Lyse Doucet —The history of Kabul’s finest hotel tells the history of a nation

The Inter-Continental Hotel on a hilltop above Kabul has watched Afghanistan’s modern history unfold from its windows. Built in 1969, it has survived Soviet occupation, multiple coups, a civil war, a foreign invasion and waves of Taliban rule. This is the story of that hotel and of Afghanistan itself, told through forty years of visits, world-making headlines, and the people who called the finest hotel in Kabul home.

This event was recorded live at the 2026 Sydney Writers’ Festival at Carriageworks.

Speakers

Lyse DoucetBBC Chief International Correspondent and author of The Finest Hotel in Kabul, A People’s History of Afghanistan, Hutchinson Heinemann (2025)

Debbie Whitmont (host)ABC Journalist and author