With Peshawar in the news so much lately for everything from being the front lines in the struggle with militant Islam to suicide bombings to Blackwater operatives allegedly working out of the Pearl Continental for the Frontier Corps and for JSOC, I realized it was time to run a post on my experiences there. Peshawar … Continue reading
While we were killing time in Peshawar waiting for the fighting in the Khyber Pass to die down enough for us to make it through to Afghanistan, we kept casting about for new things to see. Alleged (I’m very skeptical of this) to be one of the intellectual birthplaces of the Taliban, I was interested … Continue reading
Pakistanis are famous for decorating their vehicles. The transport trucks, used to ferry goods primarily between Pakistan and Afghanistan are particularly extravagant. As we were stuck in Peshawar due to the fighting in the Khyber Pass, a visit to industrial Peshawar to see these trucks being constructed seemed a solid idea. Below is an example … Continue reading
Back on the road again… The expressway to Peshawar. This road was absolutely lined with teams of Highway Patrolman, armed with radar guns looking to catch speeders. Perhaps not the first image that would come to the minds of many upon hearing of the road to Peshawar: Continue reading
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
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
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
The Velvet Rocket 