We took a trip up the Panjshir Valley today. All I can say is Awesome! We were invited by the Superintendent and Commandant of NMAA, but at the last minute the Superintendent had to cancel. We did go with the Commandant though, who is an Afghan Brigadier General that grew up in the village just down the hill from Massoud's tomb. We basically toured around the area with a local hero. Imagine, he grew up in the Panjshir Valley, fought alongside Massoud against the Taliban, and is now the Commandant at what is likely the most prestigious University in the country.
I highly recommend reading the two links above if you have time. Massoud is a national hero and martyr for Afghanistan. During his time with the Mujahideen, he led the defense of the Panjshir Valley against first the Soviets, and then the Taliban. This valley is the only region of Afghanistan to have never been conquered by either! Ever! Imagine standing up to and continually defeating the Soviet military with a group of volunteer insurgents. They were fighting for their homes though, which is powerful motivation.
The whole valley is beautiful. A raging river fed by the snow melt in the Hindu Kush rages through it. There is a lot of agriculture and amazing scenery. It really reminded me of Big Thompson Canyon and Estes Park. The surrounding mountains are a bit more shear and quite a bit higher though.
We were up at about 4:30 am, on the road by 5:15, and didn't return until 8:30 tonight, so I'm going to cut this a bit short. Lots more on the adventure with pictures tomorrow. By the way, we even swam in the Panjshir river in our skivvies! I'll have some unflattering pictures of all that next post.
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too cool! can't wait for the pictures. wish i was with you.
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