My favorite newspaper just published an interesting article about Swaziland and so this seemed as good a time as any to throw up my Swaziland pics. Continue reading
Category Archives: Places We Go
Visiting Takht-i-Rustam
The extremely interesting Buddhist stupa at Samangan is known locally as Takht-i-Rustam (Rustam’s Throne). Rustam, the hero of Firdausi’s great epic the Shahnama (Book of Kings), written in Ghazni c. 1010 A.D., married the beauteous daughter of the King of Samangan, Tahmina. He celebrated the event, so says local legend, by drinking wine from the … Continue reading
Visiting Dharmarajika and Sirkap Taxila
Well, as long as I’m covering ruins and the like, I might as well finish off this set before moving on to the more exciting stuff and going back to the writing-based series… This is Sirkap, a part of the ancient metropolis of Taxila. Several thousand years old, this site has only recently been excavated. … Continue reading
Visiting The Afghan National Museum (Kabul Museum)
The National Museum bears testimony to the traumas of the last two decades. Until 1992 it contained one of the finest collections of art and cultural artifacts in Asia: 100,000 pieces from two milleniums of Afghan history. During the fight for Kabul, mujahedeen armies occupied and looted the museum; the structure was shelled in 1993 … Continue reading
Visiting Takht-i-Bahi
Located in Pakistan, this was by far the largest Buddhist site we visited. Literally meaning “Spring on Flat Surface of Hill”, the spring still exists on the west side (pictured below) Therefore the Buddhist sanctuary and nearby village were named for this spring. Dating from the 2nd Century B.C. to the 5th Century A.D. and … Continue reading
Driving The Khyber Pass To Kabul
After several days stuck in Peshawar, Pakistan because of heavy fighting in the Khyber Pass, we finally got the green light to move through very early in the morning. Tensions were running quite high as the tribesmen had been killing each other only hours before and were still freely roaming around the area with twitchy … Continue reading
Kabul’s OMAR Mine Museum (OMAR Land Mine Museum)
Next time you’re in Kabul, Afghanistan, one place I strongly suggest checking out (if you have not already done so) is the OMAR Mine Museum. OMAR is an acronym for Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation. Now, if you go by what the OMAR home page says or by what you might find online, … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 