Выравнивание текста
This tragic land is like an oriental box, which only the sophisticated can open, and it appears before me in all its diversity, full of surprising discoveries. Initially, my ideas about this country were stereotypical — ‘only war, devastation and vast desert’. Gradually they were transformed into something more tangible and multi-layered.
Kabul, a diverse city of more than five million people, is a fascinating cultural fabric with a unique pattern. Here, high-rise buildings with mirrored facades, gleaming business centres and modern shops, despite their European nature, retain their national characteristics and flavour. Planes depart regularly from Kabul International Airport. Graffiti marks can still be seen on concrete fences, a reminder of social problems. The foreign investment that poured into the country in the noughties, although it ended up in the pockets of the local authorities, was partly invested in improvement. In this unstable territory, the 21st century is juxtaposed with the Middle Ages. All this creates an atmosphere of hope, even though there are constant terrorist attacks, protracted military conflicts, regular power cuts and total poverty.
Afghanistan is golden sunsets, the silhouettes of minarets, the long chanting of muezzins in the morning twilight. It is hot flatbread from the corner shop and melt-in-your-mouth kebabs. It's flowering gardens and parklands where only men walk. And, flapping in the wind, a giant white flag on a hill. The laughter of children playing in the neighbouring courtyard, kites tumbling through the sky, the turquoise water of lakes in a valley among towering cliffs.
But the most interesting phenomenon for me remains the human being, people with their stories, experiences, difficulties — the intertwining of destinies, each of which carries its own unique experience. I would like to capture and pass on this opportunity to feel happiness in the midst of centuries of unhappiness.
Nadezhda Khramova 2024
