Afganistan
Rural
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Afghanistan's vast landscapes are peppered with rural villages far from the bustle of city life. With an estimated 40 million inhabitants, the majority reside in small, scattered settlements. I am told in some towns, when the Americans arrived, the local people thought they were Russians because they hadn’t heard, after 12 years, that the Russians had ever left. My only brush with danger came unexpectedly when a photo of a nomadic camp inadvertently escalated to a four hour standoff, during which I wasn’t allowed to leave at the threat of violence, over a misperception about me trying to take pictures of their wives, although just a pretense to extort me for money. The situation defused only with the intervention of a Taliban commander, who told the Nomads to let me leave and stop bothering foreigners, underscoring their keen interest in promoting tourism. Image: Amidst the vast nothingness, I met a shepherd, a symbol of Afghanistan's reliance on subsistence farming. Isolated, hours from the nearest village, these shepherds lead their flocks in search of pasture. This one greeted me with a mix of friendliness, bemusement and confusion, speaking no English and having likely never met a foreigner.
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The town that probably was home to the shepherd—a speck of civilization in the vastness.
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Another shepherd, another face of Afghanistan’s pastoral life.
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A valley in Nouristan, a hidden gem nestled within the mountain folds, requires a grueling 12-hour drive on dirt roads from Jalalabad to reach Parun at 2,800 meters altitude, the low point in a valley that borders the Himalayas and has multiple 7,000 meter peaks. Here, the Parun river carves through the landscape, with farming thriving at lower altitudes and the highlands challenging the hardiest.
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A local traverses the road to Parun, where fuel prices and poverty dictate travel by foot or donkey for most.
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A man, child, and donkey—a trio navigating the valley's terrain.
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An elderly man from south of Parun, his face etched with the lines of a life shaped by the mountains that cradle his home.
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A makeshift bridge crossing the river.