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The story of a hotel. The story of a nation. When the Inter-Continental Hotel opened in central Kabul in 1969, it reflected the hopes of the country: a glistening white edifice that embodied Afghanistan''s dreams of becoming an affluent, modern power. Five decades later, and the Inter-Continental is a dilapidated, shrapnel-damaged shell. It has endured civil wars, terrorist attacks, the US occupation, and the rise, fall and rise of the Taliban. But its decaying grandeur still hints at ordinary Afghans'' hopes of stability and prosperity. Lyse Doucet, the BBC''s Chief International Correspondent, has been staying at the Inter-Continental since 1988. She has spent decades meeting its staff and guests, and listening to their stories. And now, she uses their experiences to offer an evocative history of modern Afghanistan. It is the story of Mir, the supervisor who for five decades has witnessed diplomats, soldiers, journalists and politicians visit the hotel. It is the story of Fatima, who stayed at the Inter-Continental long before the arrival of the Taliban, and who fondly recalls its early glamour. And it is the story of Sadeq, the 24-year-old front-desk worker who personifies the ambitions of a new generation of Afghans. The result is a vivid exploration of daily life in one of the most dangerous cities on earth. It captures the soul of Afghanistan from within the walls of the Kabul Inter-Continental.
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Lyse Doucet first arrived at the Kabul Inter-Continental Hotel on Christmas Day 1988, the day after her thirtieth birthday. Visiting Afghanistan to cover the withdrawal of Soviet troops following their disastrous decade-long occupation, she was immediately taken by the faded grandeur of the hotel and the warm hospitality of its staff.
Over the course of the next four decades, Lyse would report on many of the most significant moments in world history – from the Arab Spring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and many wars in the Middle East – ultimately becoming one of the world’s best-respected war correspondents and the Chief International Correspondent for the BBC. But through everything, she has always found herself drawn back to her Afghan home, the hotel most people just call the ‘Inter-Con’. Here, she draws upon years of conversations with its staff and guests to tell the story that only she can.
