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Kabul

Capital of AfghanistanKabul lies in the eastern half of Afghanistan, high in a narrow valley of the Hindu Kush mountains, along the Kabul River.

Why it's the capital

Kabul was already an old and important city when, in 1776, Timur Shah Durrani moved the capital of the Durrani Empire here from Kandahar. That is when Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan.

Fun facts

  1. At about 1,790 m above sea level, Kabul is one of the highest capital cities in the world.
  2. The city is believed to be more than 3,500 years old.
  3. Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, took Kabul in 1504 and loved the city; at his wish he was buried here, in the Gardens of Babur.

Finding it on the globe

Go west from Islamabad, a little to the north, across the border into Afghanistan. Kabul is also almost straight south of Dushanbe.

Sources: Wikipedia: Kabul, Wikipedia: Gardens of Babur