SHAR-E-GHOLGHOLA FORT

Shar-e-Gholghola means "the city of noise". The Islamic city of Bamiyan stretched through the large plateau located south of the cliffs of the Buddhas. At the heart of this plateau is a high citadel dating back to the th century. Bamiyan lived its epoch of splendour, under the Dynastie dynasty, established in this city by Fakhruddin Ghori, the eldest brother of Alauddin, known for burning Ghazni in 1151. Excluded from the Ghor kingdom because his mother was a poor slave, Fakhruddin used his talents to extend his sovereignty to the north, to Kashgarn, to the east, in Kashmir, and to the west to Balkh, keeping Bamiyan as the capital. The shansabani kings that succeeded him were described by their contemporaries as protectors of scholars and justice. The members of this dynasty occupied important positions at the Abbassides court in Baghdad. It was a opulent kingdom, but it was relatively short since the last prince was killed in 1215 by the Shah Khawarizm. At that time Bamiyan was commanded by the eldest son of Khawarizm Shah, Jalaluddin. In 1221, he defended the kingdom against the absolute destruction expected by Genghis Khan. The Mongols and their army were camping at the entrance to the Kakrak Valley and had difficulty taking the Citadelle citadel.

Driven by an obscure desire for revenge, King Jalaluddin's daughter sent an arrow with a message to Genghis Khan's tent. The message was that there was an underground source supplying the citadel with water and suggested that the conqueror build a dam. Following this advice, Genghis Khan quickly defeated the enemy and entered the citadel to carry out his oath of killing every man, woman and child, bird and animal from this valley. After the death of his grandson, he swore to be revenge. And it was the cries that accompanied the final massacre that gave the citadel the name we know it today: the city of noise. So Genghis Khan made this Valley fatally silent.

Visit. The climb at the top of these ruins is not to be missed, first because it offers a magnificent view over the entire valley. The north, the Buddhist caves; behind, mountains to the end. At the foot of the citadel, north side, a patchwork of fields runs along the river. In the east you can see the mountains of the Kakrak valley. Descending towers stand out to the sky. To the south, there is a distance from the Koh-i-Baba mountains and the Shah Foladi peak, the highest of the Hindu Kush (4 951 m), covered with snow.