Walking up the wall

Today was not the first time that I had climbed the old city wall of Kabul, but the first time that I did the entire transcend from one side of the hill to the other. And, finally, I got to know the story behind the wall, thanks to my friend Wendy. Apparently, in the 12th century, the place what is modern day Kabul had two kings. A good one and a bad one. One day, the bad king decided to build a wall. He forced all people of his kingdom to climb up the hill, everyday, carrying bricks and stones, to slowly slowly build up the wall. One day, a newly married man got sick. But since he was afraid of the king, he insisted to his wife that he will go up the wall and do his duty, to avoid punishment. The wife got worried about his health, and eventually they decided that she would go up, dressed in men's cloths, and carry bricks on behalf of him. While she was up there, the bad king passed by to inspect the progress of the wall. He started shouting at the workers, blaming them for not doing a proper job. The woman got angry, and in her anger, throw a stone at the king and killed him. From that day onwards, the woman was celebrated like a hero, and peace returned to the two sides of the city.

Interestingly enough, nowadays, it's only the female inhabitants of Kabul who seem to remember this story... ask a guy about the wall, and he will just shake his head and pretend not to know where it all started ...