A mountain-ringed capital on the old Silk Road
Kabul lies in a valley at around 1,800 metres, surrounded by the mountains of the Hindu Kush, and has been a trading city on routes between Central and South Asia for millennia. Its best-known sight is the Gardens of Babur, the terraced walled garden where the first Mughal emperor chose to be buried. The National Museum of Afghanistan holds finds from the country's layered past, including Buddhist and Bactrian art. The old city bazaars, such as those around the Shor Bazaar, trade in carpets, dried fruit and spices.