KANDAHAR CITY
Destination
Kandahar is an economic and political hub of Afghanistan and has always played a major role in the nation’s history. Kandahar province has a population of around 2 million people, with over one million residing in its capital city. The majority of Kandahar people are engaged in agriculture, import and export, real estate, small businesses, and government services. Kandahar is a major exporting center of fresh and dried fruits.
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 1000–750 BC and it became an important outpost of the Achaemenid/Persian Empire in the 6th century BC. 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. 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.
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.
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription
Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by Emperor Ashoka, from Chilzina in Kandahar, 3rd century BC.
Mosques of the Cloak of Prophet Mohammad “S”
Ahmad Shah Durrani Mousoleum, Founder of Afghanistan (1722 – 1772)
