There is no road that goes directly to Musa Qala.

If you want to reach the place in the vastness of the Afghan province of Helmand, you have to cross a stony and dust-dry river bed.

It's easy to get lost in it.

That was good for the Taliban.

Precisely because the place is so remote, they found refuge here for years.

Musa Qala means “fortress of Moses”.

Since 2015 at the latest, the city has been considered the southern capital of the Islamists.

At the same time it was an important base for opium smuggling.

Again and again in the past few years there have been deadly skirmishes and air raids.

Thousands of people died, including civilians, the Taliban, Afghan soldiers and NATO forces.

Drones circled over the houses day and night, drawing attention to themselves with an unpleasant whirring sound.

In 2019, at least 40 civilians who were celebrating a wedding were killed in an attack on a hideout run by the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.

Not a city for women

But now the Taliban are in Kabul. You have taken power again in Afghanistan - and it has become quiet in Musa Qala. But in it you can get a feel for how the Islamists lived in recent years, and how some of them have already ruled. Is it even possible to take a look into the future of the country here?

As the sun slowly sets behind the hills of the city and colors the surroundings a soft pink, the Taliban gather for evening prayer. Go to the mosque. Many fighters pray in the open air, their faces turned towards Mecca, their weapons and machine guns at their feet. In addition, a couple of boys play soccer or balance on their bikes along the uneven beaten path. Only women cannot be seen, not a single one. Musa Qala is not a city for women, they are not allowed to participate in public life. They sit locked in their houses, behind high mud walls, without a right to education or freedom. While they keep things tidy at home, it's all the dirtier outside: Fleas nest in the seat cushions of the few restaurants, and garbage collects on the edge of the unpaved roads.Toilets are hard to find. This is evidenced by the smell in many corners and backyards.

How many people live in Musa Qala is unclear.

According to estimates, it should be around 20,000.

Some of them are traders or drug smugglers who moved here because of the good war business.

Others have lived here for generations, long before the Taliban and the opium trade existed.

The city has been a meeting place for many fighters in recent years.

Here they came together to exchange ideas and plan new attacks.

They also got reinforcements from neighboring Sangin, the hometown of the 28-year-old Musa.

The city that was right on the front line has been completely destroyed today.

There is no house left, not even the mosque or the small clinic that offered residents at least minimal health care.

Hardly any roads and for many no electricity

Musa enjoys listening to traditional Afghan music, occasionally watching Bollywood films and following the regional cricket championships.

He never went to school, not even to the Koran school;

he says he has never read the holy book.

Nevertheless, he believes and prays - even without a precise understanding of Islam.

Musa was recruited by the Taliban in 2001, shortly after the Americans declared war on Al Qaeda.

The young man estimates that he must have been around eight years old at the time.

He does not know his exact age himself.