Alexander of Macedon and the Kalash

As I am sure you know, Alexander the Great passed through the area in 327 B.C.

It is not known exactly where he crossed, but I believe that he went up the Kunar River and crossed a mountain pass into what is now Bajaur Valley in Pakistan.

Alexander did not reach as far up as the Kalash Valleys. However, the Kalash say that they came from a place called Syam. The location of this place is unknown.

I do not believe that Alexander encountered the Kalash. I believe that he encountered the people now known as "Nuristanis". They are the "Red Kafirs" who live in places like Kamdesh. They are similar to but different from the Kalash. The Kalash are the "Black Kafirs".

Map of Nuristan - Please be thankful for this map, because maps of this area were illegal to sell either in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Go up the Kunar River. When it crosses the red dotted line (very hard to see) you have gone from Afghanistan back into Pakistan. If you do not cross the dotted line but take the smaller river to the left, you reach the valleys of Nuristan.
If you want to go visit my wife, Honzagool, you cross the red dotted line, keep to the left (West) side of the river, and you will see two rivers branching West near the brown line which comes from the word MUMO. The first river is called Urtsun. The second river is called Jinjoret. Honzagool lives between the Urtsun and Jinjoret rivers, but much closer to Jinjoret. There is a small bend in the river < which is the exact spot where the house of Honzagool is located.
This map is Copyright © 1997 by Richard F. Strand.


You can find lots of Nuristanis in the refugee camps in Chitral. You might even try going directly into Nuristan, which is in Afghanistan.

If you go to the Kalash Valleys, try to find Saifullah Jan in Rumbur, or Abdul Khaliq in Bumboret or Rustam Khan in Birir. They are Kalash men who speak English well and will be happy to be of assistance in your investigations. However, they might not be in Chitral at this time. Before going to Chitral, you should inquire about them in the Chitrali Bazaar, which is part of the Qissa Khani Bazaar in Sadar, the old city of Peshawar.

You can also try to find Shah Wali, a Nuristani, who will be willing to try to help you, in a refugee camp in Chitral. You might also be able to find Khalilullah Nuristani, who studied in Columbia University in New York City, in front of the Chitral Noghor (The Chitral Fort) in Chitral .

Another person to see would be Prince Siraj-ud-Din of Village Nagar in Chitral. Nagar is 34 miles South of Chitral Proper. Prince Siraj-ud-Din is half Nuristani, because his mother was Nuristani, and he usually has the Free Nuristan Liberation Army sleeping in the front yard of his palace.

Ismail Sloan

At 01:15 AM 11/04/1997 +0100, you wrote: >I am the president of The World Macedonian Congress.

>We'd like to get more information about the people Kalash, because we are preparing an expedition in Pakistan to search the common origin between the Kalash in Pakistan and the Macedonian people in Macedonia, the fatherland of The Alexander The Macedonian.

>Please answer me what we have to do to organize this expedition.


Here are links:

Contact address - please send e-mail to the following address: Sloan@ishipress.com