Kandahar

Coordinates: 31°37′12″N 65°42′57″E / 31.62000°N 65.71583°E / 31.62000; 65.71583
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Kandhahar
)
This article is about the city in Afghanistan. For other uses, see Kandahar (disambiguation).

Kandahar
  • کندهار
  • قندهار
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, aerial view over the Mausoleum of Baba Wali
, a Mosque in Kandahar
UTC+4:30 (Afghanistan Standard Time)
Postal Code
38XX
Websitekandahar.gov.af

Kandahar (English:

Dari: قندهار, romanized: Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of 1,010 m (3,310 ft). It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118.[2] It is the capital of Kandahar Province and the centre of the larger cultural region called Loy Kandahar. Kandahar is the founding city and spiritual center of the Taliban. Despite the capital of Afghanistan being Kabul, where the government administration is based, Kandahar is the seat of power in Afghanistan as the supreme leader and his spiritual advisers are based there. Kandahar has therefore been called the de facto capital of Afghanistan, though the Taliban maintain Kabul is the capital.[3]

In 1709,

western Asia
.

Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the

food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish.[6]

The region around Kandahar is one of the oldest known human settlements. A major fortified city existed at the site of Kandahar, probably as early as c. 1000–750 BC,[7] and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire in the 6th century BC.[8] Alexander the Great had laid-out the foundation of what is now Old Kandahar in the 4th century BC and gave it the Ancient Greek name Ἀλεξάνδρεια Ἀραχωσίας (Alexandria of Arachosia).

Name

The city was named as Alexandria in Arachosia after the invasion of Alexander the Great in 330 BC. It is suggested that the name "Kandahar" evolved from "Iskandar" pronounced as "Scandar", in the local dialect version of the name Alexander.[9] The change of the name from "Scandar" to Candar is mentioned by the 16th-century Portuguese historian João de Barros in his most famous work, Décadas da Ásia.[10]

"Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander."[11]

— João de Barros, 1552 AD

A

fertile and historically known for producing fine grapes, pomegranates, apricots, melons and other sweet fruits.[citation needed
]

Peshawar Valley.[13]

History

Prehistory

Further information:
Pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan

Excavations of prehistoric sites by archaeologists such as Louis Dupree and others suggest that the region around Kandahar is one of the oldest human settlements known so far.

Early peasant farming villages came into existence in Afghanistan ca. 5000 B.C., or 7000 years ago. Deh Morasi Ghundai, the first prehistoric site to be excavated in Afghanistan, lies 27 km (17 mi) southwest of Kandahar (Dupree, 1951). Another

Indus Valley sites and with those of comparable age on the Iranian Plateau and in Central Asia, indicating cultural contacts during this very early age.[14]

— N. Dupree
, 1971

British excavations in the 1970s discovered that Kandahar existed as a large fortified city during the early 1st millennium BC; while this earliest period at Kandahar has not been precisely dated via radiocarbon, ceramic comparisons with the latest period at the major Bronze Age city of Mundigak have suggested an approximate time-frame of 1000 to 750 BC.[7] This fortified city became an important outpost of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, and formed part of the province of Arachosia.[8]

Ancient history

Further information:
Alexandria in Arachosia

Foundation of city and Greek invasion

The now "

Alexandria, a name given to cities that Alexander founded during his conquests.[16]

Kandahar has been a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia, controlling the main trade route linking the Indian subcontinent with the Middle East and Central Asia.[17] The territory became part of the Seleucid Empire after the death of Alexander. It is mentioned by Strabo that a treaty of friendship was established eventually between the Greeks and the Mauryas (Indians).[18][19] The city eventually became part of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC), and continued that way for two hundred years under the later Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD).

Chilzina
in Kandahar, 3rd century BC.

While the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Mauryas were developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The founder of the empire, Chandragupta Maurya, confronted a Macedonian invasion force led by Seleucus I in 305 BC and following a brief conflict, an agreement was reached as Seleucus ceded Gandhara and Arachosia and areas south of Bagram to the Mauryas. During the 120 years of the Mauryas in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism and local pagan beliefs.

Inscriptions made by Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka the great uses the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit.

Medieval history

Further information:
Islamic conquest of Afghanistan
Shi'a Safavid garrison at what is now Old Kandahar in 1638 to the Mughal army of Shah Jahan

Islamic conquest

Till 9th century, Kandahar and other regions ruled by the

Saffarid dynasty
, conquered Kandahar and the rest of the nearby regions in the name of Islam.

Ghanavids

It is believed that the

Ghor
.

Kandahar appears to have been renamed Teginābād in the 10th-12th centuries, but the origin of the new name is unclear. During this period, nearby

Minhaj-i-Siraj attributes the downfall of the Ghaznavids to the loss of Kandahar. The city's name was changed back to Kandahar by the 13th century, after Ala ad-Din Husayn Jahansuz sacked Lashkari Bazar, near Bost. Again, the reason for the name change is not clear.[23]

Mongols

Kandahar was besieged by a

Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu defeated them. In 1251, upon accession to the Mongol throne, Möngke Khan granted Kandahar, along with other lands in Afghanistan, to Shams ad-Din Mohammad Kart of the Kart dynasty. However, the city is mentioned as being under Chagatai control in 1260–61; Kandahar didn't come under Kart control until 1281. Later, in 1318, a Chagatai prince raised an army from Kandahar against the Ilkhanid governor of Sistan.[24] Kandahar was described by Ibn Battuta in 1333 as a large and prosperous town three nights journey from Ghazni.[25]

Arghuns in the late 15th century, who eventually achieved independence from the Timurids. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have visited the town (c. 1521 AD) during his important journey between Hindustan and Mecca
in Arabia.

Mughal and Safavid Era

Tamerlane's descendant,

Kalat State captured Kandahar again. Kandahar was regarded as important to the Mughal Empire because it was one of the gateways to India, and Mughal control over Kandahar helped to prevent foreign intrusions.[26]

The memory of the wars fought over Kandahar at this time is preserved in the epic poem Qandahār-nāma ("The Campaign Against Qandahār"), a major work of Saib Tabrizi which is a classic of Persian literature.

Modern (1709-2024)

Further information: Hotak dynasty and Durrani Empire
This lithograph is taken from plate 23 of Afghaunistan by Lieutenant James Rattray, 1848. He sketched Kandahar in December 1841 from the rooftop of the former residence of the province's governor, Sirdar Meer Dil Khaun, who was brother to the Emir. Pictured on the left is the tomb of Ahmed Shah Durrani and on the right the Bala Hissar (fort) and citadel.

Georgian subject and governor of the Shia Safavid Persians. After establishing the Hotak dynasty in Kandahar, Mirwais and his army successfully defeated subsequent expeditions by Kay Khusraw and Rustam Khán. Mirwais resisted attempts by the Persian government who were seeking to convert the Afghans from Sunni to the Shia sect of Islam. He died of a natural death in November 1715 and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz, but after being suspected of giving Kandahar's sovereignty back to the Persians he was killed by his nephew Mahmud Hotak.[27][28]

Painting by Abdul Ghafoor Breshna depicting the 1747 coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is regarded as the founding father of Afghanistan (Father of the Nation).
Zahir Shah
.

In 1722, Mahmud led an army of Afghans to the Safavid capital Isfahan and proclaimed himself King of Persia. The Hotak dynasty was eventually removed from power by a new Persian ruler, Nader Shah. In 1738, Nader Shah invaded Afghanistan and destroyed the now Old Kandahar, which was held by Hussain Hotak and his Ghilji tribes.[29] In the meantime, Nader Shah freed Ahmad Khan (later Ahmad Shah Durrani) and his brother Zulfikar who were held prisoners by the Hotak ruler. Before leaving southern Afghanistan for Delhi in India, Nader Shah laid out the foundation for a new town to be built next to the destroyed ancient city, naming it "Naderabad". His rule ended in June 1747 after being murdered by his Persian guards.[30]

Ahmad Shah Durrani, chief of the

Mosque of the Cloak in the centre of the city. By 1776, his eldest son Timur Shah had transferred Afghanistan's main capital, due to several conflicts with various Pashtun tribes, from Kandahar to Kabul, where the Durrani legacy continued.[14]

From 1818 to 1855, Kandahar was ruled by half-brothers of

independent principality. In September 1826, Syed Ahmad Shaheed's followers arrived to Kandahar in search of volunteers to help them wage jihad against the Sikh invaders to what is now Pakistan. Led by Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs had captured several of Afghanistan's territories in the east, including what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir
. More than 400 local Kandahar warriors assembled themselves for the jihad. Sayed Din Mohammad Kandharai was appointed as their leader.

British war

Ayub Khan, but were defeated at the Battle of Maiwand. They were again forced to withdraw a few years later, despite winning the Battle of Kandahar
.

Kandahar remained peaceful for the next 100 years, except during 1929 when loyalists of

Nadir Khan and his Afghan army came to eliminate Kalakani, known as the Tajik bandit from the village of Kalakan
in northern Kabul Province.

Street in the city, 1973
The Mausoleum of Mirwais Hotak

During

Zahir Shah's rule, the city slowly began expanding by adding modern style streets and housing schemes. In the 1960s, during the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, Kandahar International Airport was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers next to the city. The U.S. also completed several other major projects in Kandahar and in other parts of southern Afghanistan. In the meantime, Soviet engineers were busy building major infrastructures in other parts of the country, such as Bagram Airfield and Kabul International Airport
.

During the 1980s, Soviet–Afghan War, Kandahar city (and the province as a whole) witnessed heavy fighting as it became a centre of resistance as the mujahideen forces waged a strong guerrilla warfare against the Soviet-backed government, who tightly held on control of the city. Government and Soviet troops surrounded the city and subjected it to heavy air bombardment in which many civilians lost their lives.[33] In January 1982 indiscriminate shelling and bombing by the Soviets killed hundreds.[34][35] 300 civilians were killed during Soviet bombings in July 1984.[36] It was under siege again in April 1986.[37] Kandahar International Airport was used by the Soviet Army during their ten-year troop placement in the country. The city also became a battle ground for the US and Pakistani-backed forces against the pro-Communist government of Afghanistan. After the Soviet withdrawal and the collapse of Najibullah's government in 1992, Kandahar fell to local mujahideen commander, Gul Agha Sherzai. However Sherzai lacked authority against other local commanders which led to lawlessness in the city,[38] and fighting in 1993.[39] The city's population was reduced from 200,000 before the war to no more than 25,000 inhabitants, following a months-long campaign of carpet bombing and bulldozing by the Soviets and Afghan communist soldiers in 1987.[40]

In August 1994, the

accompaniments, and the playing of sports. In December 1999, a hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 plane by Pakistani militants loyal to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
landed at Kandahar International Airport and kept the passengers hostage as part of a demand to release three Pakistani militants from prison in India.

21st century

Further information: International Security Assistance Force and Presidency of Hamid Karzai
U.S. Army troops in 2009 passing by the starting point of the Army Ten-Miler run at their base next to Kandahar International Airport.

In October 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Navy began hitting targets inside the city by precision-guided cruise missiles that were fired from the Persian Gulf. These targets were the airport and buildings that were occupied by the Taliban, including Arab families who had arrived several years earlier and were residing in the area.[41] About a month later, the Taliban began surrendering in mass numbers to a private militia that had been formed by Gul Agha Sherzai and Hamid Karzai.[42] Kandahar once again fell into the hands of Sherzai, who had control over the area before the rise of the Taliban. He was transferred in 2003 and replaced by Yousef Pashtun until Asadullah Khalid took the post in 2005. Toryalai Wesa was appointed Governor of the province by President Hamid Karzai in December 2008 after Rahmatullah Raufi's four-month rule.

Afghan National Security Forces and members of ISAF providing security in 2012.

In 2002, Kandahar International Airport started to be used by members of the United States armed forces and NATO's

Canadian Forces maintained their military command headquarters at Kandahar, heading the Regional Command South of the NATO led International Security Assistance Force in Kandahar Province. The Taliban also had supporters inside the city reporting on events.[43]

NATO forces expanded the Afghan police force for the prevention of a Taliban comeback in Kandahar, the militants' "spiritual birthplace" and a strategic key to ward off the

Sarposa prison. In Spring 2010, the province and the city of Kandahar became a target of American operations following Operation Moshtarak in the neighbouring Helmand Province.[45] In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.[46]

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Toryalai Wesa, the Governor of Kandahar Province
.

In May 2010, Kandahar International Airport became subject of a combined rocket and ground attack by insurgents, following similar attacks on Kabul and Bagram in the preceding weeks. Although this attack did not lead to many casualties on the side of NATO forces, it did show that the militants are still capable of launching multiple, coordinated operations in Afghanistan. In June 2010, a shura was held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai with tribal and religious leaders of the Kandahar region. The meeting highlighted the need for support of NATO-led forces in order to stabilize parts of the province.

By 2011, Kandahar became known as the assassination city of Afghanistan after witnessing many targeted killings. In July

Quetta Shura of the Taliban claimed responsibility. The next day an Islamic cleric (mulla) of the famous Red Mosque in the Shahr-e Naw area of the city and a number of other people were killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who had hidden explosives inside his turban. On 27 July 2011, the mayor of the city, Ghulam Haider Hamidi, was assassinated by another Taliban militant who had hidden explosives in his turban. Two deputy mayors had been killed in 2010,[47] while many tribal elders and Islamic clerics have also been assassinated in the last several years. The overwhelming majority of the victims in the attacks are ordinary Afghan civilians.[48] On 6 June 2012, at least 21 civilians were killed and 50 others injured when two Taliban suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in a market area near Kandahar International Airport.[49]

On 4 May 2020, a policewoman was assassinated in the centre of Kandahar, making her the fifth policewoman to be killed during the previous two months in Kandahar. No group claimed responsibility for the killing of the policewomen by the end of the day of the reported event.[50]

On 12 August 2021, the Taliban

ANA soldiers retreating from the city, the Taliban were finally able to capture the city.[51][52] It became the twelfth provincial capital to be seized by Taliban as part of the wider 2021 Taliban offensive
.

On 15 October 2021, four suicide bombers killed dozens at a Shia mosque in the city.[53]

Geography

The Arghandab River runs along the west of Kandahar. The city has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 hectares.[54] The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902.[54]

Only 64% of families in Kandahar have access to safe drinking water; 22% of households have access to safe toilet facilities; and 27% of households have access to electricity, with the remainder dependent on public power. Kandahar's transportation infrastructure is well-developed, with 76.8% of the province's roads capable of carrying car traffic in all seasons. However, there are no roads in a minor portion of the province (3.3 percent). In terms of telecommunications, Kandahar City and major roadways are covered by the three major mobile networks AWCC, Roshan, and MTN.[55]

Land use

Kandahar is the regional hub in southern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan.[54] Non-built up land use accounts for 59% of the total land area.[54] Within the built-up area, vacant plots occupy a slightly higher percentage of land (36%) than residential land (34%).[54] There is a significant commercial cluster along the road to Pakistan in District 5.[54] India, Iran and Pakistan have consulates here for trade, military and political links.

Climate

Kandahar has a

hot desert climate
(BWh), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summers start in mid-May, last until late September, and are extremely dry. Temperatures peak in July with a 24-hour daily average of around 31.9 °C (89.4 °F). They are followed by dry autumns from early October to late November, with days still averaging in the 20s °C (above 68 °F) into November, although nights are sharply cooler. Winter begins in December and sees most of its precipitation in the form of rain. Temperatures average 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) in January, although lows can drop well below freezing. They end in early March and are followed by a pleasant spring until late April with temperatures generally in the upper 10s °C to lower 30s °C (65–88 °F) range. Sunny weather dominates year-round, especially in summer, when rainfall is extremely rare. The annual mean temperature is 18.6 °C (65.5 °F).

Climate data for Kandahar (1964–1983)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 25.0
(77.0) 		26.0
(78.8) 		36.5
(97.7) 		37.1
(98.8) 		43.0
(109.4) 		45.0
(113.0) 		46.5
(115.7) 		44.5
(112.1) 		41.0
(105.8) 		37.5
(99.5) 		31.5
(88.7) 		26.0
(78.8) 		46.5
(115.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 12.2
(54.0) 		14.8
(58.6) 		21.6
(70.9) 		28.1
(82.6) 		34.1
(93.4) 		39.1
(102.4) 		40.2
(104.4) 		38.2
(100.8) 		34.0
(93.2) 		27.5
(81.5) 		21.0
(69.8) 		15.4
(59.7) 		27.2
(81.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.1
(41.2) 		7.8
(46.0) 		13.9
(57.0) 		20.2
(68.4) 		25.4
(77.7) 		30.0
(86.0) 		31.9
(89.4) 		29.4
(84.9) 		23.5
(74.3) 		17.5
(63.5) 		11.0
(51.8) 		7.3
(45.1) 		18.6
(65.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.0
(32.0) 		2.4
(36.3) 		7.1
(44.8) 		12.3
(54.1) 		15.8
(60.4) 		19.5
(67.1) 		22.5
(72.5) 		20.0
(68.0) 		13.5
(56.3) 		8.5
(47.3) 		3.3
(37.9) 		1.0
(33.8) 		10.5
(50.9)
Record low °C (°F) −12.1
(10.2) 		−10.0
(14.0) 		−4.8
(23.4) 		2.0
(35.6) 		2.4
(36.3) 		8.5
(47.3) 		13.5
(56.3) 		9.0
(48.2) 		5.2
(41.4) 		−2.2
(28.0) 		−9.3
(15.3) 		−11.4
(11.5) 		−12.1
(10.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 54.0
(2.13) 		42.0
(1.65) 		41.1
(1.62) 		18.7
(0.74) 		2.2
(0.09) 		0
(0) 		2.3
(0.09) 		1.0
(0.04) 		0
(0) 		2.3
(0.09) 		7.0
(0.28) 		20.0
(0.79) 		190.6
(7.52)
Average precipitation days 6 6 6 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 29
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		58 59 50 41 30 23 25 25 24 29 40 52 38
Mean monthly sunshine hours 198.4 183.6 235.6 255.0 347.2 369.0 341.0 337.9 324.0 306.9 264.0 217.0 3,379.6
Source: NOAA (1964–1983)[57]

Transport

Further information:
Highway 1 (Afghanistan)
View of the airport in 2005
A Kam Air passenger plane at Kandahar International Airport in 2012

Kandahar International Airport serves as southern Afghanistan's main airport for domestic and international flights. It is also used as a major military base as well as shipping and receiving of supplies for the NATO armies. The entire area in and around the airport is heavily guarded but a section is designated for civilian passengers. Most international flights are to the UAE, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.

Pakistan plans to build a railroad track from the Pakistani town of Chaman to Kandahar[58] which will connect Afghan Railways with Pakistan Railways. The feasibility study was completed in 2006[59] but as of 2012 no construction work had begun.[60]

Kandahar is connected to

Kandahar-Herat Highway. There is a bus station located at the start of the Kabul-Kandahar Highway, where a number of privately owned older-model Mercedes-Benz coach buses are available to take passengers to most major cities of the country. Kandahar is also connected by road to Quetta in neighbouring Pakistan. Due to the ongoing war, the route to Kabul has become increasingly dangerous as insurgent attacks on convoys and destruction of bridges make it an unreliable link between the two cities.[61][62]

Commuters in the city of Kandahar use the public bus system (

UAE.[63]

Demographics and population

Kandahar has a population of approximately 1,057,500 people in 2008. In the province, there are around 14,445 households, with an average of seven individuals per home. Around 68 percent of Kandahar's population resides in rural districts, with males accounting for 51 percent of the population. Pashtuns are the province's largest ethnic group. Major Pashtun tribes such as the

Kochi people (Pashtun Nomads) also live in Kandahar province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season, with estimates stating approximately 79,000 in the winter and 39,000 in the summer.[55]

Education

Further information: Education in Afghanistan
Afghan National Security Force and Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team
prepare for the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute grand opening ceremony in 2012.

Before the 1978 coup in Kabul, majority of the city's population were enrolled in schools.[

Australia
and other parts of the world.

The two oldest known schools are Ahmad Shah Baba High School and Zarghona Ana High School. There are a number of new schools that opened in the last decade, with more being built in the future as the city's population grows with the large returning Afghans from neighboring countries.

Afghan Turk High Schools
is one of the top private schools in the city.

The main university is the Kandahar University. A number of private higher education institutions have also opened in the last decade such as Benawa Institute of Higher Education, Mirwais Neeka Institute of Higher Education, Malalay Institute of Higher Education and Saba Institute of Higher Education.[64][65][66][67]

The adult literacy rate ratio was 16.8% in 2012.[2]

Communications

Further information: Communications in Afghanistan

Telecommunication services in the city are provided by

Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million agreement with ZTE
for the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network. This was intended to improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kandahar but throughout the country.

Places of interest

An 1881 photo showing the ruined Old Kandahar citadel of Shah Hussain Hotak that was destroyed by the Afsharid forces of Nader Shah in 1738. This destroyed fortress is still standing today.

The tomb of

Murad Beg) to Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Sacred Cloak is kept locked away, taken out only at times of great crisis. Mullah Omar took it out in November 1996 and displayed it to a crowd of ulema of religious scholars to have himself declared Amir al-Mu'minin (Commander of the Faithful). Prior to that it was taken out when the city was struck by a cholera epidemic in the 1930s.[68]

The village of Sher Surkh is located southeast of the city, in the suburbs of the old city of Nadirabad. Kandahar Museum is located at the western end of the third block of buildings lining the main road east of Eidgah Durwaza (gate). It has many paintings by the now famous Ghiyassuddin, painted while he was a young teacher in Kandahar. He is acknowledged among Afghanistan's leading artists.

Just to the north of the city, off its northeast corner at the end of buria (matting) bazaar, there is a shrine dedicated to a saint who lived in Kandahar more than 300 years ago. The grave of Hazratji Baba, 7.0 m (23 ft) long to signify his greatness, but otherwise covered solely by rock chips, is undecorated save for tall pennants at its head. A monument to Islamic martyrs stands in the centre of Kandahar's main square, called Da Shahidanu Chawk, which was built in the 1940s.

Chilzina
mountainous outcrop (blue) on the western side of Kandahar.

The

Nadir Shah Afshar
of Persia.

A short distance from Chilzina, going west on the main highway, a bright blue dome appears on the right. This is the mausoleum of

United States armed forces
in about 2007.

Development and modernization

The original model plan of the Aino Mina neighbourhood, which began in 2003 by Mahmud Karzai and associates.[70]

Decades of war left Kandahar and the rest of the country destroyed and depopulated, but in recent years billions of dollars began pouring in for construction purposes and millions of expats have returned to Afghanistan. New residential areas have been established around the city, and a number of modern-style buildings have been constructed.

Some residents of the city have access to clean drinking water and electricity, and the government is working to extend these services to every home.[71] The city relies on electricity from the Kajaki hydroelectricity plant in neighbouring Helmand, which is being upgraded or expanded. About 30 km (20 mi) north of the city is the Dahla Dam, the second largest dam in Afghanistan.

The Aino Mina is a new housing project for up to two million people on the northern edge of the city.[72] Originally called the Kandahar Valley and started by Mahmud Karzai,[70] it was announced that the project would build up to 20,000 single-family homes and associated infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community buildings, including schools.[73]

It recently won 2 awards, the Residential Project and Sustainable Project of the Year at the Middle East Architect Awards.[74] Many of the high-ranking government employees and civil servants as well as wealthy businessmen live in this area, which is a more secured community in Kandahar. Work on the next $100 million scheme was initiated in 2011.

Also, construction of Hamidi Township in the Morchi Kotal area of the city began in August 2011. It is named after Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar who was assassinated by militants in late July 2011.[75] Situated along the Kandahar-Uruzgan Highway in the northeast of the city, the new township will have 2,000 residential and commercial plots. Including new roads, schools, commercial markets, clinics, canals and other facilities.[76]

About 10 km (6 mi) east of Kandahar, a huge industrial park is under construction with modern facilities. The park will have professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and persons.[77]

The mausoleum of Baba Wali Kandhari[69] next to the Arghandab Valley, in the northern outskirts of the city.
Congregational Mosque and contains a sacred cloak that used to be worn by Islam's Prophet Muhammad
.
Al-Jadeed indoor shopping centre in the Shahre Naw section of the city.
Local children watching a football match at the playground of Ahmad Shah Baba High School.
Arghandab Valley
Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani
Governor's Mansion

Airports

Neighborhoods

Cultural sites and parks

Mosques and shrines

Mausoleums

Shopping

  • Al-Jadeed indoor shopping center [5]
  • Herat Bazaar
  • Kabul Bazaar
  • Shah Bazaar
  • Shkar Pur Bazaar
  • Piaroz Super store
  • Kandahr Super Store
  • Samimi Super Store

Hospitals

Banks

Sports

Professional sports teams from Kandahar
Club League Sport Venue Established
Kandahar Knights Afghanistan Premier League Cricket Sharjah Cricket Stadium 2018
Boost Defenders Shpageeza Cricket League Cricket Kandahar International Cricket Stadium 2013
De Maiwand Atalan F.C.
 Afghan Premier League Football Kandahar Stadium 2012

Stadium

Demography and culture

Further information: Demographics of Afghanistan
Religions in Kandahar
Religion %
Muslims
 
 99.8%
Hindus
 
 0.15%
Others*
 
 0.05%
*includes
Atheists
A gathering of tribal and religious leaders following a shura held by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in June 2010 to start a dialogue for peace with the Taliban.

The population of Kandahar numbers approximately 651,484 as of 2021.

Uzbeks 2%.[80]

Pashto is the main language in the city and the region. Persian is also understood by a few number of the city dwellers, especially those serving in the government. Both are the official languages of Afghanistan. A 2006 compendium of provincial data prepared by the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
(UNAMA) states:

"The major ethnic group living in Khandahar province is Pashtoons. This includes major tribes such as

Dari is spoken in six villages by 4000 people and Balochi is spoken by 8000 people in two villages. 19000 people in nine villages speak some other unspecified language."[81]

In another report, by BBC news Farsi, there are roughly 50,000-100,000 Tajik or Persian speakers in the city of Kandahar.[82] The "Council for Tajiks of the south" head office is also based in Kandahar city.[83]

The Pashtun culture, history, traditions, clothing and Pashtunwali is dominant in this region.

Notable people


See also

Footnotes

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  9. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1
    , pp. 517–518. This derivation, as that from Gondophares, was characterised as "philologiquement impossible" by P. Bernard, "Un probleme de toponymie antique dans l'Asie Centrale: les noms anciens de Qandahar", Studia Iranica, tome 3, 1974 and Afghanistan Quarterly, vol.33, no.1, June 1980/Spring 1359, pp.49–62, p59, n.10.
  10. ^ Barros, João de (1552). Da Asia De Joāo De Barros: Dos Feitos, Que Os Portuguezes Fizeram No Descubrimento, E Conquista Dos Mares, E Terras Do Oriente. Decada Quarta. Parte Segunda (in Portuguese). Na Regia Officina Typografica. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020. Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khorasan), from Bohára, and all the Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by which the Persians call Alexander.:ruptamente Candar, havendo de dizer Scandar, nome per que os Perfas chamam Alexandre, por elle (como efcreve Arriano ") edificar efia Cidade, e do feu nome fe chamou Alexandria fituada ...
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References

Further reading

Published in the 19th century
Published in the 20th century
Published in the 21st century
  • C. Edmund Bosworth, ed. (2007). "Kandahar". Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden:
    Koninklijke Brill
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kandahar.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kandahar.
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