Walk around the lake

On the third day of Eid we go to walk around Quargha lake. There are four of us: the initiator of the walking Viiu, me, Andres and his colleague Stephen.
It is quite hard to reach even city limits: all streets are so crowded and the stream of cars is endless. It seems that all four million residents of Kabul are on wheels.
Last time we went to Quargha lake was in springtime. Now there is little water left : the level of water has dropped some meters. Actually, Quargha is important water reservoir for Kabul, constructed during drought years of 1999-2001. There are far too few lakes in Afghanistan – deep turquoise color has magic power to attract the residents of Kabul.
We start our walk from Kabul Golf Club. Kabul Golf Club is quite different from a normal golf club.There is no grass in the hills and the golf players are followed by their jeeps and armed bodyguards as well.
We pass main tourist area: there are lots of shelters covered by colorful fabric. Some afghans are waiting for customers near butcher stands and cold drink boxes. Even little harbor for rowing boats is situated on the shore.
Soon we can enjoy just glittering water and dark clouds coming closer over mountains. I only can see a bunch of houses in the distance and some jaded old trees hold their dramatic positions on the top of hills.
Along the shoreline there are lots of deep holes – those are mud brick “factories”. Mud is mashed to the shape of a brick and stowed into regular lines. Afterwards sun will dry the bricks; it is a very common building material for local houses.
We meet some locals: father with his curious children is walking around the lake as well. Crowd of boys wearing their new Salwar Kameez’is (traditional cloth for afghan men) are playing with glass balls. And aggressive shepherd girls who ask me money even for taking photos of goats and sheep. To punish them for their behavior, I secretly take an image of them.
After one and half hour our walk is finished. As we step over the doorstep of our house, something extraordinary starts outside. Thunderstorm and hail are coming down at the same time.