Afghanistan (Summer 1970)

In the summer of 1970, I traveled to Afghanistan with one of my brothers and a friend. We drove through part of Europe, then Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan. We entered Afghanistan from Pakistan through Khyber Pass. After visiting Northern and Central Afghanistan, we drove to Herat along the southern road through Kandahar and the Helmand desert, and then from Herat to Meshed in Iran.

Our car, a Renault 4L, made the long roundtrip without any serious mechanical problems, despite many bad roads and intense heat especially in the southern part of Iran.

General view of Kabul

Street scenes of Kabul

The Unai (3300m) and Hajigak (3700m) passes along the road from Kabul to Bamyan give access to Hazarajat, home of the Hazara people, whose “capital” is Bamyian.

Bamiyan, with the statues of Buddha carved in the sandstone cliff in the background.

The large statue of Buddha (55m) and a smaller one.

Another view of the big statue

Frescos near the statue’s head

Hazara farm

Hazara man

Bandi-Amir lakes, one of the most beautiful sceneries on Earth

Balkh province

Mausoleum of Khwaja Abu Nasr-i-Parsa in Balkh

Tashkurgan, an ancient caravan city

Shrine to Hazarat Ali, in Mazar-i-Sharif

Scenes from the South

Minaret of the Musalla (mosque) of Gawhar Shad, near Herat

Scenes from Herat

Tea house