Kabul Traffic

I saw every form of travel, expect for trains, imaginable on the streets of Kabul. The streets are filled with ruts, pot holes, and dirt. In order to travel about the city, we had to go with a guard and driver either in their personal vehicle or in an armored SUV. The following report gives you a good insight into what I saw.

Visitng Turquoise Mountain Foundation

The Turquoise Mountain Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which invests in Afghanistan’s traditional crafts, historic building and landscapes in order to preserve cultural heritage, improve living conditions and create economic opportunities. The Turquoise Mountain Foundation believes that the preservation of Afghan culture is vitally and urgently linked to the country’s much needed economic, social and urban regeneration. The Foundation currently has a ceramics school in Kabul and a Resource Center in the town ofIstalif , where Afghan potters come daily to learn safer, more effective techniques. The aim of the Turquoise Mountain’s work is not to alter traditional skills, but to preserve Afghanistan's crafts while opening them to wider markets. www.turquoisemountain.org.

Istalif, Afghanistan

I spent an afternoon in Istalif which is about an hour drive north of Kabul. It is located on the Shomali Plane. The Soviets came through the Shomali valley when they invaded Afghanistan. The Taliban later destroyed the village, forcing the inhabitants to leave. The village is known for its pottery tradition.

Below is an article from Ceramics Today about Istalif and the rebuilding of the Afghan ceramic tradition.

Rebuilding Afghanistan Pot by Pot: The Turquoise Mountain Foundation and the Potters of Istalifby Noah Coburn and Ester Svensson

Areas such as the Shomali Plain north of Kabul were devastated by fighting with the Taliban and have been very slow to rebuild. Many of these towns have struggled to reconstruct themselves and have been forced to find their own means of economic development. For Istalif, a town an hour and a half north of Kabul, in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, this means returning to their traditional crafts to drive their own rebuilding process. Istalifi potters in particular have come back to rebuild their kilns and return to methods of potting which have been passed from father to son for generations.

Istalif has long been renowned for its gardens and traditional crafts. The Empire Babur praised the beauty of Istalif’s gardens. Before the Soviet invasion, Istalif was a popular spot for tourists and Kabulis to visit on the weekend. However, Istalif’s location also made it a target for military strikes during Afghanistan’s 25 years of war.

As a primarily Tajik town, at the edge of the mountains and therefore an ideal route between Kabul and the safety of the hills for resistance fighters, the Taliban saw Istalif as a threat to their rule of Kabul. As a result after weeks of fierce fighting, the Taliban took control of the town. They gave the residents a few hours warning and then slowly and methodically buried or razed every building in town.
Most of the potters in Istalif fled to Kabul, many walking for almost a month to avoid the intense fighting while carrying all their positions. Most remained in Kabul, living in poverty with relatives or in squatter villages, until the fall of the Taliban. Almost immediately after Hamid Karzai’s interim government arrived, Istalifi potters began to move slowly back to their destroyed homes and returned to what they do best, making pots.

The Hindu Kush Mountains above some of the still unrepaired houses of Istalif.
Istalifi Pottery:

The methods of the Istalifi potters have changed little despite the upheaval of the past three decades. They use a mixture of earthenware clays that they collect in the mountains above Istalif and bring to their workshops by donkey. To the clay they add a plant fiber called gul-e loch, which makes the clay more workable, but also makes their pots much more brittle. They do all their measuring by eye and then the clay is mixed together by stamping it with their feet for between two and four hours.
The Istalifi potters are masters on the kick wheel and traditionally make a variety of bowls and plates. They throw off a hump and often produce as many as 50 bowls an hour when they are pressed for time. Since the 1970s however, they have increasingly made candlesticks and other decorative objects, which both foreigners and visiting Kabulis purchase.


The Turquoise Mountain Foundation’s work in Istalif began by primarily aiding the potters and their families, but the unique history and geography of Istalif are allowing traditional crafts slowly to revive the economy of the town. This is a town which can be reconstructed, primarily by relying on the appeal of their ancient craft. The Turquoise Mountain Foundation is in the process of building a visitor’s center near the town bazaar. This center will have museum displays about the history of Afghan pottery and will also be a place for the potters to display their work for visitors from Kabul and abroad.

Maasai Villagers, Kenya

The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well-known African ethnic groups internationally.[3] They speak Maa, which is a part of the Nilo-Saharan language family — similar languages include Dinka, Nuer, Turkana and Songhai — and are also educated in the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania: Swahili and English. The Maasai population has been variously estimated as 377,089 from the 1989 Censusor as 453,000 language speakers in Kenya in 1994 and 430,000 in Tanzania in 1993 with a total estimated as "approaching 900,000" Estimates of the respective Maasai populations in both countries are complicated by the remote locations of many villages, and their semi-nomadic nature.

Although the Tanzanian and Kenyan governments have instituted programs to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle, the people have clung to their age-old customs. Recently, Oxfam has claimed that the lifestyle of the Maasai should be embraced as a response to climate change because of their ability to farm in deserts and scrublands.

The Great Migration

Thousands upon thousands of wildebeests cross from Tanzina over the Mara River into Kenya. Herds and herds run back and forth looking for the right place to cross.

Kabul Street Scene

I spent the day with my Afghan driver and guard, Mr. Azem and Mr. John. They showed me around Kabul including the Zoo, T.V. Hill, the National Museum, and Babur’s Garden. Kabul is a busy city with lots of people going about their business. Street vendors, women in burkas, muddy rut filled streets, traffic, live stock, carts, bicycles, buses, cars, armed guards, Afghan National Police, bullet riddled buldings, beggars, street children, and open sewers are part of the landscape.

Safari

Spent three days in the Masai Mara, Kenya to see the Great Migration. It was amazing to see so many animals, lions, elephants, zebras, hippos etc. We had two excellent safari guides Charles and Soloman.

Check out these lions, literally 10 feet away. Turn up your speakers!

Kenya

Leah and I spent three days on safari and 4 days on Lamu Island. I will write more when I have more time, but I wanted to post a few pictures.

Gold Cappuchino In Abu Dhabi

After checking in to our hotel, we hired a car and went down the coast to Abu Dhabi. We met Leah's friend at the Palace of the Emirates. The thing to have is a Palace Cappuchino because they sprinkle real gold on top! It is an incredible place and a memorable birthday experience. The Palace was beautiful, very ornate and encrusted with gold leafing.

My Birthday in Dubai

Well I finally did it, I turned 43! I don't feel old. We just arrived from Kabul. Getting out of the airport was quite the experience. We had our passports checked 5 times.

To celebrate my birthday, my sister and I drank champagne in Le Meridian Hotel in Dubai. Dubai and Kabul are the extreme opposites. I'm still thinking about all the wonderful people I met in Kabul. One of the guards at my sister's compound had his cousin (who is a tailor) make me a traditional Afghan outfit. Another guard bought me a melon as a going away gift.

Beer Running in Kabul

Greetings from Afghanistan where I actually did a beer run! I hooked up with the Kabul chapter of the Hash House Harriers and ran through the streets of Kabul. Did I just read that Jon was

complaining about running in a little heat? First of all, Kabul is 6000 feet above sea level and the
altitude really kicked my butt. I felt like a first day runner. Not to mention running past open sewers, weaving around goats, women in burkas, guards with AK-47s, and puzzled looking people.

An armoured SUV trailed us and the team leaders carried guns. It was a memorable and surreal experience. In the drinking and hazing circle at the end, we drank beer to the sound of a mosque's call to prayers and a mine explosion.

It just goes to show you how people strive to create normalcy out of chaos. It is quite remarkable that there are so many normal activities going on amidst the danger. I sat in gardens, restaurants, and even a mall. There are constants reminders that this is a war zone as I saw armed guards, police, armoured SUVs, and the occasional International Assistance Force convoy.


A Hasher is given his new Hash name and is dowsed with beer, flower, and eggs.

Pictures At Flickr

I'm keeping a written journal of my journey which I will post when I have more time. Until then, please my photos here.