Some Early Morning Views in Kabul

Here are some pictures I took Thursday morning (28 August) around 6 AM. The city is coming to life as the sun rises. By 6:30 it is downright busy!

I done thought I woke up in the mountains of east Tennessee!
Look at all the tires on the rooftops!
This is a row of about ten different tire shops.

The waterboys.
I was once asked about how the water gets up to the cliff houses.
Well, it starts at the well where virtually anything that can carry water is filled.
Then the containers are slung on poles and carried up to the houses.

The sun hasn't quite touched the Kuchi camp yet, but the goatherd is already out.

A quiet residential neighborhood. A great shortcut since there is less traffic.
Note the open sewer on the right of the picture.

Kuchi Dog.
In general, Muslims don't keep dogs. They are considered "unclean."
However, given how healthy and well-fed many dogs in Kabul appear,
the dogs are not doing too poorly.
The Kuchi may not "keep" dogs, but they seem to appreciate their presence.
Dogs like this one move with the Kuchi, providing early warning from threats.

Old cemetary in "Old Town."
This is all that remains of the grave markers, however the locals know what lies beneath.
This is one of those empty parcels of land that squatters and vendors do not set up upon.

Just look at that produce!
Cauliflower, red cabbage, green cabbage, ginger, onions, potatoes, egg plant, zuchinni, cucumbers, roma tomatoes, okra, green beans, yellow beans, lemons, limes, turnips, plums, squash and a cucumber-like local vegetable.
I like the way the shadow landed on this stand.

Kabul on Monday

Some of today's pictures I'm putting up just because the color or the people's expressions came out just right, even if the rest of the shot wasn't quite perfect. Others are just some the many street scenes common every day in Kabul.

Traditional and Modern
He's a thoroughly modern dude from the neck up.

A Wedding Car

There are weddings almost every day in Kabul and they are BIG affairs.

Rubble, Tent and Houses
You frequently see houses that are nothing short of mansions alongside rubble and tents.

The "Running Chef"
He's built a stove, complete with stovepipe into the wheelbarrow.
A satisfied customer munches on his lunch while sqatting on the curb.

Shops on a Shady Street.

Sisters on the way to school.

The Drover
This was a quick "wrist" shot. I didn't have a chance to aim through the viewfinder.
The shadow and color came out, too bad my aim was off a little.

A Balloon Guy
This is at 6:15 in the morning.

Cat in the Hat
Western themes, especially American, are very popular here.

A Corner Store
A constant blend of modern and traditional.

Culture Blend
The gent in the middle with Western features is Nuristani.
The Nuristani claim descent from the Greeks of Alexander the Great,
but their ancestry may also be an older Celtic influence.
He is surrounded by Hazara, descended from the Mongols who
conquered Afghanistan in 1219.

Father and Son
Some things are the same no matter where you go.

More Media Nonsense!

A BBC report on Tuesday said that Kabul was “pounded” by rockets on Monday. Gee, coulda fooled me. There were two rockets, over a mile apart, minimal damage, only one injury and one of the rockets landed in an empty field near the airport. Quite a pounding! Yep, quaking in fear of Taliban rockets! NOT!

This particular reporter (Alastair Leithead) even tried to equate this rocket attack to the three years of bombardment that Kabul endured during the civil war between 1993 and 1996. You have to wonder about the BBC's agenda. If you look to them for "unvarnished truth," don't! They are the Taliban's media service of choice.

Monday was Afghan Independence Day and the Taliban were said to be ringing Kabul and ready to close in. People are terrified, the security situation deteriorating so fast that people want to flee the capitol.

Well, that’s what the media say. Now I am quite certain that it is easy to find “chicken little’s.” You know the type; we have them in the US too. Feed them a little bad news and they run with it. Then the news becomes a self-feeding thing. The media then go out and search for the very people they’ve spooked to get their take on events. And then they print the "Chicken Little" comments and keep recycling the fear.

The “Afghan Chicken Little” shouts, “the Taliban are coming!” In Kabul at least, they are a distinct minority no matter what the media says. So in this edition, I am posting some photos and commentary on how you can tell that what I am saying is true.

Serious violation! Pregnant woman alone in the market without burkha.
That's good for at least a dozen lashes!

Frivolity and gaiety!
Note the decorations hangning over the street in preparation for the Taliban's attack on Independence Day. Numerous violations here: men without headcover or beards, many women without burkhas and walking about unescorted. Picture can't show it, but there was music...music playing in public!

Ok, so the gardener tending the roses has a regulation beard and headcover, but why is he tending roses?
This is unnecessary activity. He should be reading his Quran, not playing with roses!

More decadence!
Apart from the fact that neither of these women are wearing regulation burkha,
they have the audacity to be wearing Western footwear! And the woman on the right is even more decadent! She had the nerve to stop a strange man on the street and ask him a question!
And tell me why these children are out playing, when they should be tending the goats or memorizing the Quran! What is the world coming to?

These boys flying kites are in serious trouble when the Taliban roll in this week!
Two violations: kite flying and Western clothing!

Our Taliban police are about to have a heart attack.

Not only are girls going to school and laughing, they are doing so in the company of, gasp...boys!

If you have time to be a smiling family, something is wrong!
Violation for beard length on dad and failure to wear regulation hat, mom not in uniform, son and daughters wearing Western clothes.
And what is with the smiles?

All five of these people are in violation of Taliban dress-code!
What is with the muppet backpack? Illegal Western influence!
The girl on the left is in additional trouble for having her scarf drop from her head, but that is small potatoes next to the fact that she's on her way to school.

Both of these young men are in trouble.

No beards, no hats and the guy on the left is sorta trying to look cool in Western clothes!

Hey, did you know that the Taliban are coming? Better ditch the pool toys!

Here's the deal. When you stop seeing these sights, that's when the people believe the situation is lost and the Taliban are "closing in," but not before.

Oh, and all these pictures were taken a day or two before Independence Day, when the populace was most fearful of attack by the Taliban...at least that's what the media said was going on.