You have been busy. I caught the postcards from Afghanistan on your blog as well as the comments. Here are a few more pictures of the progress that is going on. The one guy was right. There are a lot of smiling faces. They love to have their pictures taken. I was riding air sentry in the rear of the bison, while taking some pictures. We never travel alone. We have the bison, plus at least one other vehicle, in this case a SUV. No one is allowed to come between the bison and SUV. It was my job to make sure of that and monitor any one moving close to the bison. A big concern was the possiblilty of magnet bombs being attached to the bison. Most of the people we encountered were happy to see us and gave us the thumbs up sign, but I later found out the thumbs up has ‘another’ meaning there. lol
Anyway, while taking pictures one day. A taxi driver saw me and wanted his picture taken. He followed us half way through the city gesturing for me to take his picture. Finally he moved on.
These people are working hard to restore what they once had. In the short time I was there, I could see the progress being made. You see them making bricks and hauling bricks. There is a photo attached of a building, half destroyed, yet half has been reframed and bricked in. There are people living in it. Unfortunately as in any culture of people, there are those who try to improve and those who could care less. In the middle of the market areas the stench is unbelievable. There is a trench that runs parallel to the road everywhere. It is filled most times with raw sewage, right next to the vendors carts. There was also a huge pile of garbage between some carts. I am talking, taller pile than a man. Yet down aways there are people with shovels, shovelling out the garbage and hauling it away in wheelbarrels, so that water can drain properly.
Another of the attached photos shows a picture of the stone houses built up the side of the mountain. If they build on the mountainside, they do not have to pay tax. Some of those houses are a long ways up. You can see the graves in the forground. I meant to ask our linguist about it, for they stick tree branches/poles into the ground and attach green pieces of cloth to it. Not sure why green. I will ask once I am back at work.
There are full sized versions of these, plus other photos, at this directory.
Green is a traditional color of Islam. Notice how many Islamic countries include green on thier flag. The Saudi flag is all green with white script and saber, for example.
Josh
Green is a rare, natural sight, in Arabia.
I think it is used the way red and blue is used in the flags of the green covered countries. Rare colours, that stand out.
Come to think of it, it is probably why the Saskatchewan football teams use green as well 😉
http://www.afghansforafghans.org/learn.html
Green is the symbolic color of Islam. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH, peace be upon him) wore a green turban, and green is believed to have been his favorite color. Green was also the color of the banners used on the battlefield and the color of the first Islamic flag.
The Quran and the Hadith, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, describe Paradise as filled with green: the people of Paradise “will wear green garments of fine silk [The Noble Quran, 18:31].”
Islam also considers green significant because it is the color of nature.
That is interesting. So can you tell me why they put the sticks into the ground almost like a flag pole?
I have a picture of one grave with a headstone and a pole with the green ‘flag’.
My guess is that it’s better than putting it on the ground with a rock on top to keep it in place. Or so it will flutter in the breeze to attract the attention of the Prophet.
Something metaphorical like that is my guess.
Josh