August 24th, 2008
Darul Aman Palace and the Kabul Museum
Today (Saturday) we went to visit shrines in the old city and the Kabul Museum. Along the way we passed the ruins of Darul Aman Palace. It was built in the 20s as the abode of King Amanullah Khan, and has been destroyed like clockwork during important moments in recent Afghan history– the communist coup in 1978 and the civil war of the 90s. It is slated to be restored by a European firm.
Darul Aman Palace
Right next door is the restored Kabul Museum. There were a lot of beautiful antiquities there. A few examples:
Bodhisattva. Tepe Maranjan. 3rd-4th Century A.D.
Iron bracelets (Bactrian? It was unclear-- something B.C.)
I was really swept away by a room full of artifacts from Nuristan (land of light), in northeast Afghanistan. Known as Kafiristan (land of infidels) until its conquest in the late 19th century, it was home to a distinctive ethinic group which practiced shamanism and polytheism. In legend the Nuris owe their distinctive appearance to descendance from Alexander the Great’s army, but they were probably a group indigenous to Afghanistan before the arrival of its current dominant tribes. (Thanks Wikipedia!) IN ANY CASE, the carved wooden statues were strangely affecting and reminded me of west African traditional art.
Later we went to visit a camp of refugees who have fled to Kabul from southern Afghanistan, trapped as they were there between the bombardments of coalition forces and the exactments of the Taliban. R. took pictures while I filmed so I am going to hold off on publishing his amazing pictures. Coming soon to a something something somewhere something, once I can sort myself out.
Tomorrow: Bala Hissar with Sandy Gall’s Afghanistan Appeal (SGAA, click though to find out more)– hiking up to the fort where the British army was defeated in the Anglo-Afghan war to raise money for Sandy’s medical charity. I’m gonna be struggling keeping up the power sources for my various devices– which are hard to juggle between– while following along with 25 British ladies and gentlemen from the old mold.
bravo loulou! very pleased you’ve made it out there, i can feel your excitement from here! the babur gardens, chicken street, the bombed out palace, the jingly jangly trucks — your experiences are making me nostalgic. looking forward to your next installment. stay safe!!
manna
24 Aug 08 at 4:10 am
This is fascinating…you are really getting into it…I am sitting here in a Starbucks in the outskirdts of Beijing catching up on you and talking on skype with Brazil, the US and south China…do you see a spot for Papa John’s there?
Lenny Abelman
24 Aug 08 at 6:38 am
I love the little horse , he may be the ancestor of my quarter horses.I cannot wait to read your blog every morning…Everything is so exciting.Stay very safe.MOM
Marie christine maitre
24 Aug 08 at 5:43 pm
Louis, what you’re doing is brilliant. I want to come work with you. Love the blog–my suitcases are too dusty and need use. Love from East Orleans
Jeane
25 Aug 08 at 1:54 am
I’m very pleased to see you travelling again. I’ll follow your adventures closely, gros bisous. N.
Nicholas Mandelbaum
25 Aug 08 at 4:12 am
Louis,
Greetings to you in Afghanistan. Your writing has given me much joy tonight as I sit at my desk in my apartment in LA. I feel mixed emotions of joy at hearing how wonderful your experience is, guilt at not having yet taken such an altruistic step myself, and additional guilt because reading this is an excuse for me not being able to write anything worth a s&*% tonight.
Be safe and keep writing. I will definitely keep reading!
Lots of Love Emily x x x
Emily Cheung
25 Aug 08 at 9:55 am