Jabal Seraj- The mountain of light-and a waiting palace

Mahbouba and I stopped before lunch to interview the local "Wali" or governor of the city. We were ushered into a narrow cool room and Mahbouba introduced herself. The Wali asked about her family and she described herself as King Habibullah's granddaughter and King Amanuallahs' niece...we rarely get into this in our work but our experience when we do is that we usually recieve a very warm welcome-and stories about her family. This gentleman launched into a detailed story and I was left on my own to translate for myself. The jist of the discussion was that King Habibullah built a beautiful palace in Jabal Seraj (which was intact when I was a child as I remember it). The war came and it was destroyed but he never let anyone do anything to the palace grounds as he has been waiting for the family to return to Jabal Seraj. He courteously welcomed her and asked if she would like to see it. The Wali's father lived to 106 and was able to tell his son many stories about Afghanistan and this royal family which was displaced in the 1930's.Mahbouba did not know this and it was such a treat to see her delight as she encountered this dear man and his appreciation for the contribution her family made to Afghanistan. Here are pictures of our tour.