Qala-e-Bost Arch
The Arch of Qala-e-Bost, located near Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province, is a monumental 11th-century Ghaznavid architectural masterpiece standing at the confluence of the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. Featuring a magnificent decorative mud-brick span of over 80 feet, the arch and surrounding fortress ruins are the grand remnants of the ancient city of Bost, destroyed during the violent 12th-century sack by Ala al-Din Husayn of Ghor and the subsequent 13th-century Mongol invasions of Genghis Khan. Local Afghan villagers, pastoral nomads, and travelers report that the ancient ruins are haunted by the spirits of medieval defenders and Mongol horsemen, with reports of ghostly cavalry charges, clashing swords echoing across desert dunes at night, and glowing apparitions near ancient subterranean wells.