On the morning of our departure, we had to pay a bribe “environmental fee” to get out of town, but then almost immediately came across the rockslide pictured below… Now, there is another road out of Bamiyan and it is actually shorter than the road we were on. However, no one takes the shorter road. … Continue reading
It takes several rough hours on a dirt track to reach Afghanistan’s first National Park from Bamiyan, but the beauty and solitude in just getting there is worth crossing the world for. Band-I-Mir has been described as “the Grand Canyon flooded with deep sapphire lakes, bluer than the cloudless sky, with sheer golden cliffs plunging … Continue reading
As we arrived in Bamiyan in the afternoon, we decided to walk across the valley (a short walk) to where the giant Buddhas (now only niches) had been: I thought this was an interesting alleyway: Bamiyan became a front line between the Taliban and Northern Alliance in 2001/2 and the modern town was almost destroyed. … Continue reading
Bamiyan Became notorious in 2001 after the Taliban essentially destroyed Afghanistan’s premier historical tourist site… Bamiyan is a fairly isolated central mountain province in central Afghanistan and the town lies in a fertile valley that is only 15 km long and 3 km wide. The views are incredible. The background to this surprising place is … Continue reading
This is my favorite Kabul photo series. I think perhaps because it was a day of such extremes. A fierce wind was hammering the capital. Fighting was raging blocks away from where I was. I was all alone. I missed the company of a pretty American girl I met on the flight to Kabul from … Continue reading
A view of the mountains around the city from Babur’s Gardens: Security contractors driving through the city. We were stuck in traffic next to them for a while and had a good conversation with them as they were funny as hell: The only shopping mall in Afghanistan. The new shopping mall, with escalators in a … Continue reading
Kabul – The capital city, and the chief trading city of Afghanistan is one of the oldest cities in Southern and Central Asia. It is situated on the Kabul River and is about 1800 meters above sea level. The view from the top floor of the Spinzar Hotel where we stayed. It was nice to … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 