[Illustration: MAJOR CLEVELAND’S RESIDENCE IN KABUL] [36] Printed on page 365. [37] Adapted from “The Life of Abdur Rahman”: Sultan Mahomed Khan and “The Middle Eastern Question”: Valentine Chirol. [38] Born 1890. [39] Born 1893. [40] See p. 372. [41] See p. 371. CHAPTER XV KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS [Illustration: THE FAMOUS CAGE ON THE SUMMIT OF THE LATABAND PASS] The bazaars of Kabul are quite unworthy of the capital, but radical improvement in their character could only be made by a complete reconstruction of the city. Here and there new ones have been built, Habib Ullah himself having erected several at his own expense, but the principle of construction, adopted at the time of the building of the city, is the great stumbling block to any extensive alterations. The narrowness of the streets, many of which are mere alleys, gives rise to perpetual congestion; while, in consequence of their contracted character, they are always dirty and overloaded with the refuse of the houses, more particularly in winter when they are blocked with the snow, which is swept from the roofs. Of the several bazaars of the city,[42] the three principal, running irregularly parallel to each other, are the Shor Bazar, the Erg Bazar, and the Darwaza Lahori Bazar. The former extends east and west from the Bala Hissar to the Ziarat Baba Khudi, a distance of little more than three-quarters of a mile. The latter, stretching from the Darwaza Lahori, passes through the centre of the wood market and terminates at the New Bridge. The Erg Bazar crosses the town and communicates with the workshops. The western portion of the Darwaza Lahori Bazar was the site of the Char Chata, at one time undoubtedly the most magnificent bazaar in Afghanistan. The structure, ascribed to Ali Mardan Khan, whose name is immortal in these countries, was handsomely laid out and highly embellished with paintings. Four covered arcades, of equal length and dimensions, were separated from each other by open squares, originally provided with wells and fountains. The entire fabric was destroyed in October 1842 by General Pollock, as retribution for the murder of Sir William Macnaghten and the indignities offered to his remains. [Illustration: WEIGHING WOOD IN THE BAZAAR]