The Air Car - zero pollution and very low running costs

"According to an article on Gizmag, Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, has developed a car that runs on compressed air. It costs less than $3 USD to fill a tank on which it can run for 200 to 300km. The car will cost about USD $7,300 and has a top speed of 68mph. About once every 50,000 km you have to change the oil (1 liter of vegetable oil). Initial plans are to produce 3,000 cars per year."

Out on a Friday II

After visiting cemetery we drive towards Bala Hissar Fort. Unfortunately there is no possibility to visit fort because it is a military place. Nearby there is a lovely shrine - it the place for the only working fountain I have seen in Kabul - it is located south from the fort. There a lots of graves on neighbouring hills. It is a lovely peaceful place with view to a shallow lake and the snowy peaks of surrounding mountains. We have been here some weeks ago: it seems that afghan families like to visit graves, to sit and have a tea or climb nearest hills.
After more than a hour of climbing on steep hills we reach the summit. Mountain Sher Darwaza is not high (2200m), but we started out from ca 1600m. It has been quite a tiresome ascent.
There are quite a few of us: my husband, his colleagues Willy and Stephen. Our driver Karim brings along his little son and daughter. They look like Teletubbies in their colourful costumes, but they are amazingly tough. Sometimes Karim and Stephen carry the children on their shoulders, but most of the time the kids just push forward bravely, without any whining.
Time to time we stop on stony platforms, built by mudjahedins. The platforms were used to fire missiles at Kabul city. There is a magnificent view from the top of the mountain: I can see the ruins of Darulaman’s king palace in south, the airport to the north and the main stadium to the east. To the west, there is mountain called Asamayi, with TV-masts on top. Usually masts tower above our heads, but today we look down at them…
One can hear city noise from the distance, mixed with voices of mullahs calling. We walk down alongside the ruins of ancient city walls.

Out on a Friday I

The saddest part of winter was that there ware no possibilities to go to a walk outside Kabul on Fridays. How you can walk if you can’t see even the signs that indicate mines. Two weeks ago there was another reason: there were demonstrations organized by mudjahedins. The so-called “white city” was declared, which means that international staff was prohibited from movement outside of their compounds. Last Friday was a beautiful clear day and we decided to spend it in a sporty way.
First we go to wander in British Cemetery. It is a nice garden on foot of Bibi Mahro hill, founded in 1839. Cemetery is hidden behind a high mud brick wall and it is well maintained by an old guard named Rahman.
It is quite interesting to read texts on tombstones. There are buried some famous explorers like Hungarian-born sir Mark Aurel Stein or dane Henning Haslund-Christensen. There are also graves of French archaeologists and of lots of children. There are tombs of Henley’s family, killed in a car accident on Salang pass in 1969. American engineer, employee of Chinese embassy, Jesuit from India.
One wall is covered with names of ISAF soldiers who have been recently killed in Afghanistan. And there is another wall with names of British military officers who fell in battles during British-Afghan wars. But the most popular place seems to be Bettina’s grave. This young lady was killed some years ago in Ghazni.