Charley
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Tourists to take terror out of Tora Bora
Christina Lamb, Tora Bora
FANCY following in the footsteps of the world's most wanted terrorist as he evades capture by the most powerful army on earth? Soon tourists will have their chance as the Tora Bora caves where Osama Bin Laden slipped through the grasp of American forces are to be turned into a holiday resort.
"Tora Bora is already a world-famous name but we want it to be known for tourism, not terrorism," said Gul Agha Sherzai, governor of the eastern Afghanistan province of Nangahar where the caves are situated.
The black-bearded governor, a former warlord turned construction mogul, has drawn up plans for a £5.3m hotel development overlooking the caves. He intends to build restaurants and pave the dirt road leading to the mountains from Jalalabad, a bone-jarring three-hour drive.
"I don't just want one Tora Bora hotel," he said, gnawing bones from mutton soup that he had prepared himself. "I want three or four. Long before anyone had heard of Osama, Tora Bora was known as a picnic spot and now it can be both."
Christina Lamb, Tora Bora
FANCY following in the footsteps of the world's most wanted terrorist as he evades capture by the most powerful army on earth? Soon tourists will have their chance as the Tora Bora caves where Osama Bin Laden slipped through the grasp of American forces are to be turned into a holiday resort.
"Tora Bora is already a world-famous name but we want it to be known for tourism, not terrorism," said Gul Agha Sherzai, governor of the eastern Afghanistan province of Nangahar where the caves are situated.
The black-bearded governor, a former warlord turned construction mogul, has drawn up plans for a £5.3m hotel development overlooking the caves. He intends to build restaurants and pave the dirt road leading to the mountains from Jalalabad, a bone-jarring three-hour drive.
"I don't just want one Tora Bora hotel," he said, gnawing bones from mutton soup that he had prepared himself. "I want three or four. Long before anyone had heard of Osama, Tora Bora was known as a picnic spot and now it can be both."
