A cup of coffee commits one to 40 years of friendship.
A cup of coffee commits one to 40 years of friendship. (A Turkish proverb).
It is a great joy to come to Kabul and visit my dear friends, Phil and Julie who work and live here, together with their beautiful kids. It’s been a long time coming. Kabul is one of those places that you currently hear and see a lot of TV – for obvious reasons. And you only see and hear about the worst. Things are not like that here at all. Kabul is a lively and interesting place – with very friendly people. People who smile a lot and very happy to exchange greetings with you – even the officials. Today we went to visit a NZ family who live about 10kb from Kabul, 40min away from the house where I’m staying. They are probably the only foreighers in the area. I asked them how were their neighbours. They said that the neighbours just couldn’t be better. Their kids play with other kids on the streets, they help each other, the live in a community. The community in a sense that we long forgot what it is in Australia. Being a part of a community (a local community and a community of expats here) is something that attracts many people who choose to come and live in countries like Afghanistan.
The driving here in Kabul is absolutely crazy. There are lot of people on the streets and it feels like Mitchel freeway going trough Fremantle markets. Literaly.
Here are some photos I took today. It’s been a very pleasant and exciting day. From having lunch with friends (shashlyk!), driving through the city – Kabul CBD – where all those embassies are, driving along the Jalalabad road (the Kabul-Peshawar road – the one with a lot of military convoys and road blocks), going to an Italian supermarket “Ciano” in the middle of nowhere and coming back home to the sound of a Muslim prayer in the loud speakers in the near mosque (which will probably continue on till 3am in the morning – it’s Ramadan!). It’s been quite a day.
So, here are some photos. I’m taking a lot of videos too, but these may have to wait till I get hold of a faster internet connection. There is a lot to see.
