As Jimmy Durante used to say...

Today I noticed a news item on the internet, "7 Militants Killed in Gun Battle in Southern Afghanistan". It turns out that the incident took place in Qalat, Zabul Province, Afghanistan.

Qalat, like most other settlements in Afghanistan has a long history, dating back at least to the time of Alexander the Great. A change has been the reconstruction of the highway from Kabul to Kandahar, which passes through Qalat.

I was the Chief Engineer on that project, so have been on the ground in Qalat on several occasions in 2003 when we were building the highway visible in the photo (below). I found an aerial shot of the most striking topographic feature, that I took from our helicopter. I have other photos taken on the ground in Qalat, but this one shows it the best.



The hilltop fortress in the picture represents what is left of the Fortress built in Qalat by the British in the 19th century. I don't know if there was any structure on the hilltop before the British did their thing, but given the history of the area, it is pretty certain that the hilltop had been occupied for hundreds of year prior to the coming of the British. In those days, as is still true, it was a good idea to sleep behind a substantial wall.

'Qalat' in Persian means "fortified place", and has been a common civil work in many countries of the Middle East and Central Asia including Afghanistan for hundreds of years. They are most often built of dried mud (adobe) and mud mortar to build a wall many feet high. Rows of adobe bricks are laid out end to end along the alignment, going around taking advantage of natural ground features. When the first course of the enclosure is complete, the starting bricks are dry, and the next layer is added, like building an igloo using snow blocks. The wall goes up pretty fast that way. There are usually towers at the corners, and after the outer wall is done, it is improved by more construction on the interior, adding embattlements, gates, dwellings, barns etc. In a country with scant rainfall, the Qalat lasts a long time.

Today, the Qalat fortress is occupied by NATO and US Forces together with Afghan military and police.

-=<()>=-