Istalif
Afghanistan · Kabul · 1900 m
Description
Istalif is a village of potters on a hillside above the Shomali plain an hour north-west of Kabul, and it has been making the same turquoise-glazed ware for centuries from clay dug on the slope and a copper glaze fired in wood kilns. Babur wrote about the orchards here and called the place the best of the villages around his capital. It was burned by a British column in 1842 and again by the Taliban in 1998, and both times the potters came back. Terraced gardens of mulberry and vine step down below the workshops. The name is read locally as the place of grapes, from the Greek word for them.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 day
Travel season
Best time to visit: April – May or September – October
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Potters' workshops and the wood kilns
- Turquoise-glazed Istalif ware
- View out over the Shomali plain
- Terraced mulberry and vine gardens
- Village lanes and the old plane trees
- Kebab and tea houses along the stream
- Shrine and graveyard above the village
- Walks up into the Paghman foothills
Getting there
- Nearest airports:
- KBL