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AFGHAN
Ski season
ISSUE 68 - MARCH 2010
Throw off your Kabul bindings

and go off piste in the Salang
Back country skiing in Bamiyan

The man who made MTV on his early years in Kabul
perspective • insight • people • reviews • pics • life

SCENE
AFGHAN Contents
Introduction
Afghan Scene March 2010 Afghan Scene
Afghan Scene March
March 2010
2010
ISSUE 68 - MARCH 2010
Publisher: Afghan Scene Ltd, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, Afghanistan

Manager & Editor: Afghan Scene Ltd, Kabul, Afghanistan
Design: Kaboora Production
Advertising: sales@afghanscene.com
Printer: Emirates Printing Press, Dubai
Contact: info@afghanscene.com / www.afghanscene.com
Afghan Scene welcomes the contribution of articles and / or pictures from its readers.
Editorial rights reserved.
Cover Photo: CREDIT HERE
7 Introduction
10 Day dream believers
Kabul at work gets to know the city’s next best band, the
Afghan Indie stars Kabul Dreams
14 How Freston got his Flares
MTV mogul Tom Freston on his early days as a Kabul
rag-trader during this city’s Golden Age
24 COVER: Powder junkies
Our Gallic cousins on how to enjoy Spring Skiing just a
couple of hours drive from the hesco-hell of a corporate
10 Kabul compound
40 Be Scenery
Scene’s favourite snapper Jason P Howe takes time out
of Hollywood to share his best images from a walk in the
Wakhan Corridor
50 You Buddha Believe It
Ian McWilliam on the Aga Khan’s new ski initiative in
Bamiyan. How the Central Highlands could rival Chamonix
57 Themed Scene
Party pics from a Ski themed celebration to celebrate
ASM’s super snow edition
53 Be Scene
24 Scene’s essential guide to Kabul’s party scene
66 Afghan essentials
Half of them got raided. But all the best restaurants
are still on our list
68 Farewell Scene
Super sleuth’s Hannah Hedges and David Cater bid farewell
to fighting serious organised crime. Job done
40
Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010 5
Introduction
Afghan Scene March 2010 Afghan Scene March 2010
When stronger
is not better
S
tronger government, it is often argued, already in Afghanistan in order to petition petty
is the cure for nearly all of Afghanistan’s bureaucrats with innumerable letters from their
current ills. It’s a tempting enough theory: employer and their own embassy.
once the country’s bureaucracy, still reeling It is a truly Kafkaesque situation.
from decades of strife is put back on its feet, Last month the visa team in Dubai also
then citizens will be much more willing to imposed a cap of just ten ordinary “visit” visas
embrace their government, rather than take up per day. One miserable visa hunter was told
arms against it. “nobody comes to Afghanistan to visit”.
But the problem is that stronger does not That is indeed often the case, but it is equally
always mean better - as any foreign national true that no one is coming to Afghanistan to
who has recently tried to secure a visa will tell you. scrounge off a generous welfare system or to use
For reasons that are not clear, in the last top draw hospitals and public services. In fact,
few months the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nearly every foreign visitor is a clear net-benefit
has introduced a bizarre new visa regime that to the country. They are the aid workers trying to
has made getting the right travel documents reconstruct the place or they are the diplomats
an even more expensive and time consuming controlling billion dollar aid budgets. Even if they
business than before. are involved in less noble pursuits the restaurant
Without bothering to publicise the new going, house renting expatriates all pump money
rules the Ministry decided that the Consulate into an economy that would otherwise be
in Dubai will no longer issue six month visas. emaciated.
And ordinary single entry visas that can then If Afghanistan’s government really was getting
be laboriously extended in country are only stronger - in the sense of ‘better’ - foreigners
issued if the Ministry in Kabul has faxed a would be welcomed to this country with open
letter through to Dubai - something that can arms and every effort would be made to make
only really be organised if the visa applicant is the visaprocess as straight forward as possible.�
Scene Team
Contributors
Afghan Scene Magazine is proud to showcase work from the best photographers in Afghanistan
Jason P Howe is a British freelance photojournalist who has spent the last eight
years specialising in conflict coverage. He is best known for his extensive work
on Colombia but he also spent several years in Iraq, documented the 2006 war
in Lebanon and has been based in Afghanistan since mid 2007.
www.conflictpics.com
David Gill is a British writer, photographer and videogrpher focusing on a social

documentary and overseas development. His current book project
Kabul, a City at Work is a selection over 100 original portraits.
web.mac.com/shot2bits/work
Harry Cole is a cad and a bounder. A former guards officer in the British army
he’s now a raconteur, wit and man about town who juggles security and
logistics in between scribbling Scene’s pocket cartoons.
Eric Davin is a gallic adventurer turned entrepreneur. In between throwing

Kabul’s best parties, founding Altai Consulting and keeping a close eye on
Kabul’s new fillies he is usually found on snow, somewhere
between Chamonix and the Salang.
Almost all of the photographs and cartoons featured in Afghan Scene are available for sale direct from the
artists. Most of them are available for commissions, here and elsewhere. If you would like to contribute to
Afghan Scene, or if you can’t get hold of a contributor, please contact editor@afghanscene.com.
8 Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010
Kabul at work Kabul at work
Afghan Scene
Afghan Scene March
March 2010
2010 Afghan Scene March 2010
Don’t stop
the beat
AFGHAN SCENE meets the ambitious lead singer
of Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan’s only Indie Rock band
debut album in a homemade recording studio
they are already going places.
They have toured in India, rocked an audience
of their peers at the American University with
their English-only repertoire and received high
praise from the rock critic of the UK’s Guardian
There have been other rock bands in
Afghanistan’s history, including The Stars, who
formed in the early 1970s to rock the guests
staying at the Intercon.
And there is a contemporary metal rock band
called District Unknown. But as the Guardian’s
newspaper who liked their style. rock critic wrote approvingly, the Dreams have
A
t the age of 20, Suleman Qardash dream of, he won’t be satisfied without a Suleman says their music is influenced by eschewed an angry musical identity in favour of
would appear to have it all. He’s on the Grammy to boot. Oasis, Radiohead and the Beatles – bands he “indie rock that is peaceful, wistful and positive,
television, where he reads the news Dreaming is something of a speciality for the discovered on the internet whilst growing up in with shades of 90s Britpop and shoegaze.”
several nights a week in Uzbek, and the lead three young men who, while growing up in exile Uzbekistan. Whatever that is.
singer of Afghanistan’s only rock band. the countries neighbouring their homeland, all
But he’s far from finished. With eyes open as hoped to one day form a band in Kabul.
Kabul, A City at Work is a selection of over 100 original portraits from the
wide as his smile, the mop-topped Suleman It’s only fitting then that they should have
capital. Its authors describe it as a window into Kabul’s soul. For more
declares that on top of the record label and called it Kabul Dreams. For a band that is less
information visit www.web.mac.com/shot2bits/work | www. kabulatwork.com
international tour that his bandmates than a year old and which is working on its
10 Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010 11
Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010
Nostalgia scene Nostalgia scene
Six years in
Afghanistan
BODYGUARDS FOR HIRE: Boys pose outside a shop on Chicken Street Photo | Tom Freston
When and why did you first come to The 747 and low cost airfreight had just arrived,
Afghanistan? and I saw a lot of possibilities in exporting from
Asia.
I first came to Afghanistan in 1972, I was in
my mid-20s, I had quit a job in advertising in What was the business?
New York and I wanted to get as far as way
as possible. Afghanistan sure fit the bill. After I started a company called Hindu Kush that
travelling around Europe and throughout Africa, designed and manufactured clothing in both
I headed to India overland from Istanbul. I Kabul and New Delhi to sell to stores in Europe
entered Afghanistan at the Iran-Herat border. It and America. It combined modern design
was love at first sight. In those days, like now, I with lots of traditional fabrics. I stayed in
often felt like I had walked into another century. Afghanistan until the April 1978 coup.
Hooked, I quickly decided I needed to find a way I would stay in Kabul for anywhere from three
to support myself there, so I could stick around to seven months a year. In those days Kabul’s
a while. It seemed like it would make for a far population was only 400,000, one tenth as
more interesting life for me. I stayed a month, big as today. I loved it. It was the “The Golden
got my bearings, and then went on to India, Age.” Peaceful, tolerant, secure, clean, and
US media mogul TOM FRESTON talks to Afghan Scene about hippies, coups then home to raise money to start a business. endlessly fascinating. Most days the air was
and falling in love with Afghanistan in the 1970s
BANKABLE: Soldiers sitting outside Da Afghanistan Bank, 1973 | Tom Freston
crisp and clean, like in a ski resort. I lived in and there were others more for the expat/
Share-e-Naw in a variety of different houses Afghan elite community. All of them are
and apartments. Recently I went back to one gone now save the Marco Polo. A favorite of
of my old apartments that used to be over a mine was “The Columbus” in Share-now. A
bar-restaurant. It’s now three separate stores garden restaurant beautifully lit at night with
all selling toilets. The Pretenders song had a Christmas-style lights. There was a full bar, and
song about “going back to my city, but my city a big windowed room where Afghan musicians
was gone.” That’s what it was like going back to played every night. You sat on cushions and
Kabul in 2007. the musicians rolled and passed around hash
joints and then played for hours on end. The
What was the nightlife like? Khyber Restaurant in Pashtunistan Square was
a big Afghan favorite. It was pretty fancy. The
There was no shortage of places to go.… Kabul Hotel, destroyed but later rebuilt as the
coffee shops, friend’s houses, restaurants, Serena, was the “in spot” for the Afghan elite.
not many bars per se, although alcohol was The Intercontinental Hotel had a “Happy Hour”
readily available. Stores would even stock it and pool service. The only real ”nightclub”
outside on the sidewalk. Many restaurants and Afghanistan’s first and, maybe, last was
WINDOW GUARD: Afghan national army pictured on Freston’s first trip to the country | Tom Freston
and teashops catered to the tourist trade the legendary “24 Hour Club” run by the great
TRAVELLER CHOW: A woman poses outside a Chicken Street restaurant 1975 | Tom Freston
character, Prince Ali Siraj. Everyone went there tour buses, and pastry and pancake shops to
– expats, hippies, Afghans, spies, diplomats. I support them. There must have been ten pastry
FRUIT SELLER OF KABUL: A tradesman with his produce | Tom Freston remember one night at 2am “The Magic Bus,” shops on Chicken Street alone. And, as I look
a double-decker bus with a psychedelic paint through the merchandise in the “antique shops”
job, always jammed with stoned-out travellers on Chicken Street now, I swear it’s the exact
that rode the London/New Delhi circuit (for same stuff as back then.
$40!), pulled in for some cocktails and dancing.
Anything could happen there and you could There was a very diverse and very social group
walk home at 3am without a worry in the world, of foreigners living here then, but much smaller
except, maybe, falling into an open manhole. than now. People dealt in rugs, furniture,
jewellery, or clothing, like me. There were
How did the international community really no journalists around. Not much news.
compare to today? Interesting characters all and we were all quite
enthused to be here. Every Westerner I know
Those were days of the “world traveller” and loved it. Afghanistan was the Wild East. Not a
“hippie” migrations, so there was always a Kalashnikov in sight, just old single-shot Enfield
parade of colourfully dressed tourists passing rifles. You could walk anywhere at any time of
through. And there was a host of small hotels, the day or night. Afghans were very protective
most people were sitting on the top of trucks from his cousin, King Zahir Shah, but that was
and busses. Then he asked us back to his palace a sort of non-event from an expat standpoint.
that evening for a “big” event, which turned out Everything went back to normal in couple of
to be a demo of “television.” They brought it days. 1978 was much different, a lot of tanks in
out from under a cloth and tuned it to a signal the street and quite a bit of gunfire. I remember
from Tashkent. A show of Soviet martial music clearing out and going to Peshawar to wait for
was on. No one could understand a word but things “to blow over.” Good thing I didn’t wait,
no one in the room had ever seen television as I’d still be there. At the time the coup just
before either. It was an extraordinary scene, a seemed like a rearranging of the leadership and
real moment. Stuff like that could happen in that Afghanistan would remain Afghanistan.
those days. You could flag down a taxi and just But the “Golden Age” was over and decades of
say “take me to Kandahar for three days” and chaos lay ahead.
the driver would say “sure, get in.” He wouldn’t
even bother to go home to get a jacket. You
would drive for hours, share food, and never be
Well, you could ride a
worried. horse right through the
HORSE PLAY: Buzkashi players get stuck into Afghanistan’s national game in Mazar in 1978 | Tom Freston It all sounds wonderful – did you have
any sense of how bad the situation in
middle of Kabul, and feel
of their “guests.” If you got robbed, you could hurts to see what’s happened to the American
the country would become? like Genghis Khan.
bet it was a foreigner. Embassy today. They are so cut off; they are No one really saw the ’78 coup coming. The What happened to you next?
really not even in Afghanistan any more. There communists seemed to be a non-entity. But as
People had beautiful homes and we had a seems to be no contact with ordinary Afghans. far back as the 60s and 70s these three separate I continued my business in India for a while, but
wonderful, close, and lively community. A big In the 70s, that was the point of living here. It’s groups were emerging and competing at Kabul that had its own problems. So, in 1979, having
thing was sharing audiocassettes of any new got to be hard for them to really have a clue University: the communists, the Islamists, and made and lost a lot of money, I went back to
music from the outside because when you came about what’s going on. the secular modernists. Forty years later now, the New York to look for a new line of work. I
to Kabul in those days, you were totally cut off they’re still at it. But that was pretty much below had a passion for music and, with a bit of luck,
from the outside world. No fax, no cellphone, What did you do for recreation? the surface at the time. Afghanistan seemed to eventually got hired at a company starting a
no email, in fact, it was hard to even get regular be moving along. There was a lot of excitement music channel for cable that became MTV. I
mail. Well, you could ride a horse right through the about entering the modern world. You might stayed 26 years.
middle of Kabul, and feel like Genghis Khan. Or actually see an Afghan girl in a miniskirt. It was
The US Embassy then was a very modest two- hike in the hills. We’d travel all over the country. impossible to imagine then that the safe, exotic, Did you come back?
story building with a U-shaped driveway in In the summer people would rent houses in cosmopolitan life of Kabul would soon be history.
front of it. The road was open. Anyone could Paghman or Istalif. Once I rented a bus to Mazar The gathering thunderheads went unnoticed. Finally, in 2007, almost 30 years later, I went to
drive in. The only guards were inside. All the for Nawroz to see the buzkashi games with Dubai and flew in on Kam Air. I loved it. I guess
people working at the embassies lived in town friends. The Governor saw us at a game and I left after the April coup. There had been there’s an Afghan virus. And, once you get it,
and had lovely homes throughout the city. It called us over to the only real viewing stand – another coup in 1973, when Daoud took over you keep going back.
Nostalgia scene
Were you encouraged by what you out to them. They sure deserve better. All the
found in post 2001 Afghanistan? people I knew here are gone but I have made
some great and interesting new friends and
I was conflicted. It was a shock to see the city that’s nice.
in such shambles and to see how rough it had
become. And it’s sad to see all the wasted I still think in the end that the Taliban will
opportunities. But at the same time, despite not prevail. I don’t think that ideology is
it all, there still is a sense of regeneration, a a sustaining one for the Afghan people or
longing for a normal life, and some impressive any people. My optimism still outweighs my
economic and social improvements, particularly pessimism and I intend to keep returning. And
in media and communications. And, of course, I feel especially blessed to have lived here back
there is that key quality that endures, the in that wonderful and innocent era. Let’s hope
wonderful spirit of the people. My heart goes another lies ahead.�
Tom Freston was one of the founding team that set up MTV. He became CEO
of MTV networks in 1987, a job he held for 17 years, during which time he
established other leading cable channels including Nickelodeon and Comedy
Central. He also worked as CEO of Viacom. He is now chairman of the ONE AfghanITT Limited is a SMB Cisco Select Certified Partner in Afghanistan so you can
Campaign, the organisation started by Bono to campaign on poverty issues. be sure of getting genuine Cisco equipment with standard warranty and a host of
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PARTNER
It’s Gaultier Select

Certified
Feature scene Feature scene
Salang
Ski Club
2001-2010
Piste off with compound living? Now’s the perfect time to enjoy
Afghanistan’s answer to the Alps. Afghan Scene presents the
Salang Ski Club’s ninth anniversary guide to riding the Hindu Kush
ACTION MAN: Eric prepares for take off
“Winter 2001: Reopening Afghan Club. With the reopening of the Salang tunnel
Tunnel, and First Afghan on Skis” access to the beautiful slopes of the Salang
mountains, between 3500m and 5000m above
In the first weeks of 2002, as Afghanistan sea level, was guaranteed all winter.
was just waking up from years of Taliban rule,
Mudjahideen in camouflage and kalashnikovs The first snowfall was in late January. Less
were still the main clients of the Herat restaurant than a month later, on the 20th of February
in Shar-e Naw. Hamid Karzai was just back 2002, our friend and driver Samad was the
from Bonn and ISAF were not even in town. The first Afghan on skis since the collapse of the
news could have passed un-noticed: The French old regime. His picture appeared in Issue
NGO ACTED was re-opening the Salang tunnel, No. 4 of the new Kabul Weekly – which had
re-establishing a strategic link between northern re-opened a month before. The same day, the
and southern Afghanistan. great Najibullah Rassah, a former anchor on
Afghan Radio and TV, was making his first run
A small step for Afghanistan, a major step for on a snowboard, probably the first ever for an
what would soon become become the Salang Ski Afghan in the Salang mountains.
WHERE EAGLES DARE: Soaring over the Salang tunnel
The Salang Ski Club was born, and the area weather, and it usually lasts until the end May,
was set to become a fabulous playground for and sometimes June. That’s when you get long,
adventurous snow bums of all nationalities. This glorious ski days, with a perfect weather at the
article is an invitation to ski in the Hindu Kush: top, time for a leisurely picnic and a beautiful
a treatise on exploring Afghanistan with an ride down in the afternoon.
alternative outlook, miles from the battlefields or
the Kabul aid circus. Above 2m of snow, there is no risk of
mines anymore
Agar Bahar meaya… The best season
is March & April By the end of February you generally find 2 to
3 m of snow stacked above the Salang pass,
Lesson number one: Don’t rush out the first while the tunnel is half hidden, above 2 m of
snows of November and December. In February, snow you can consider it safe. The villagers will
when’s it’s cold, miserable and depressingly tell you that they spend the summer hunting in
wet in Kabul, it’s usually snowing over 2500m. the passes and that the only mines are in the
SKI MOBILE: Eric and Manu prepare to slope off for the day
The best season starts in March, with nice river beds, but you can never be too cautious.
DON COGLEONI: Mafia men Timur and Tom head for the slopes
Wait for real thick snow before venturing in the But for long rides and high mountain climbing,
mountains with your equipment. you need to bring your own kit; skins, fat skis
and proper bindings. And don’t forget high
“BYO and walk your way up” mountain equipment and security avalanche
systems (ARVA, ABS bag) if you really want to be
Equipment is the essence. In 2002 a few of us safe. It is 4500m there and you’re on your own if
had the exotic idea to drive a van full of old skis something goes wrong. It’s not a joke. Our Alpine
and shoes from the french Alps, through Bosnia, troops are busy with other folks in the south and
Turkey, Iran, with stop overs in the chaikhanas of the east, and no one will really check on you
the lovely cities of Maywand and Qalat where we while you ski.
could talk for long hours about ski rides and latest
equipment with tribal leaders, by the fireplace. Then it’s a long way up, and a few hours of
The equipment finally made it to Kabul, and some walking into the thin air, for a 30 minute ride. But
of the best pieces now belong to Baba Shirin and what a ride, an experience of a lifetime and the
his team in charge of clearing the road during the unique sensations of climbing in the extreme west
winter. After a few lessons, they were proud to of the Himalayas, before throwing yourself in a
FAIRE DU SKI: Manu checks out his skis
show us their tracks on the other side of the valley. long ride above the historical valley of Salang.
URBAN SKI: Who needs mountains?
L’entente cordiale, and the places in in the winter 2006 by a team of French and
between British alpinists, who gave it the name of
l’Entente Cordiale, leaving aside for a few
While a band of French friends were testing the hours the old rivalries between their respective
first rides in the Salang area and the Panjshir Eureopean kingdoms and showing a beautiful
Valley in the winters 2002 and 2003, some of example of reconciliation to the rival tribes of
their countrymen working for French NGOs in Afghanistan. Ski was opening new horizons for
Bamiyan should be credited for the first rides the country.
on the Ko-e-Baba above Bamiyan, and in the
surrounding mountains. Since then a number of Testimony: Telemark & Champagne
European, Kiwis, Aussies and American friends and cheese with Uncle Henri
have tried their luck in the Afghan Mountains,
from the North to South of the country, although Beyond the high mountains and the effort that
most slopes remain untouched. any ride will require, the Salang domain has also
become through the last decade a real spot for
However one of the most prominent summits of “Art de vivre”, and below is a testimony of one of
PRISTINE: Untouched virgin snow in the Salang
the Salang domain was symbolically conquered the most passionate members of the Salang Ski
Club, Uncle Henri: for him, the art of telemarking

some cables at the rear of 2 Town ace vans, and
in High Mountain remains still a real adventure basically hit the road skiing, pulled by the cars
which keeps him in a state of great happiness to around the Afghan capital. At that time security
be shared with friends. check points were a bit more loose, and starting
at the end of Hadji Aqoub street, we turned the
On a beautiful day –(date classified)- our group corner of the Dutch Embassy and passed UNICA
of “kohistanis” decided to climb the mythical at a good speed, 2 of us holding ropes behind
“Entente Cordiale”, champagne and foie gras each car, crossing each other while asking the
packed in rucksacks, to escort us into happiness cars to go faster, jumping along the pavement,
and bliss. The climb was simply a source of frightening a few dogs, waking up half a dozen
delight and when we reached the top, no guards in front of the Ministry of Interior, passing
pain, simply the intense pleasure to discover Moustafa Hotel, riding around the Sedarat, the
the relaxing view of our beautiful Country. On Chinese Embassy and the UNDP. That’s when our
that day French culture found its grandeur first car engine started smoking dangerously and
when I opened with a sword the champagne the driver asked for a break. With the excitement
accompanied as it is customary with foie gras. of the ride, we decided to drop the cars and
The English and Scottish members of the group climb Swimming Pool Hill, above Wazir, with
commented, at the end of the day, as the sun was our skis. Climbing up the hill we realized that in
slowly disappearing behind the majestic Hindu the moonlight, our skis on the shoulders could
Kush, it was a “bon moment”. be confused, from far, with RPGs. We decided
to take one in each hand and carry them in a
different manner to avoid any confusion for the
“Skiing Kabul: A big night out” Afghan security guards posted on the hill.
In winter mornings, when Kabul wakes up with a At 2 am, we took a beautiful moonlight ride
few inches of snow, it is hard to resist the appeal down the west face of the hill, arriving in the
of the ride, and the most addicted of us started middle of the houses of Qala e Fatullah. At 2.30
riding, on weekdays, the hills and mountains of we were home with an international beverage
Kabul. But then came THE night. “It was a cold best served in a balloon glass, trying to recover
day of the winter 2005, and an old friend was from this crazy afghan night session.
celebrating his birthday, a few streets from our
house, in Haji Aqoub. At 10pm, the streets of Après Ski at l’Atmo, and the Afghan
Kabul were covered with more than 40 cm of Moumoutte
fresh snow, and we decided to take our skis to
pay a visit to our good friend. There the party Après Ski is necessarily at l’Atmo, for the
was on, and seeing us arriving with our gears, authentic French touch and obilgatory fireplace.
other friends got excited and suggested we go There, the Salang Ski Club has a dedicated room
STUNT: Intrepid skier bounces down a hill in Kabul
for a ride around the city. At midnight, we fixed at the first floor, and a few dedicated meals:
Feature scene
Tartiflette and Fondue for the connoisseurs. Ski team is expected to kick butts in Vancouver,
White wine is preferred, unless the patron can while a pilot ski resort in Salang is budgeted
prepare in advance some mulled wine or a grog in the next wave of Alternative Livelihood
for the brave skiers back after a cold day out. fundings.
Afghan Moumouttes with sheep fur can be found Therefore, before the ski craze and the white
in chicken street, you can wear them at the gold fever takes over the country, it is still
office as in local restaurants, and they will also time to try and join the pioneers in the valleys Don’t miss
be very chic in the streets of New York, Paris, St North of Kabul. But beware, those guys are not Salam on
Moritz and Chamonix, when back home. They
were recently the central theme of the Kabul
necessarily welcoming, and quite protective of
their territory. In case of any abuse, or to get
LEMAR
Wednesdays at 8pm
Snow Party organized by the Salang Ski Club to more information please contact the Salang Ski
open its 9th season. Club on salangskiclub@gmail.com, and place
your orders for the Salang 2001-2010 collector
Moving forward: Salang Ski Resort tee shirt, available in 3 sizes starting March 2010 SALAM is an exciting drama series setting new benchmarks in quality and local production standards.
Shot entirely in Afghanistan by the MOBY Group, Salam offers viewers compelling entertainment while also
and Afghan Olympic team (order by mail), a must for your après-ski sessions
providing employment and important skills training in support of the local emerging film industry.
in Chamonix, Courchevel and Cran-Montana next
The future of Afghanistan is, as you will winter.
understand it, in Ski. While stabilization
activities in the south still have to prove their To be continued around a cheese and a slice of
efficiency, capacity building is well advanced saucisson, above the Salang tunnel…!
in the Salang mountains, and the first Afghan
00 Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com LEMAR TV | Scene

Afghan AFGHANISTAN
March 2010
Cartoon scene
Photo scene Photo scene
Howe
I see it
War photographer JASON P HOWE takes a break from bombs
and bullets to focus on the Wakhan Corridor
I have spent several years covering stories in part the conflict related strife that makes life so
Afghanistan. More often than not they involve desperate for many Afghans.
military action and the negative side of life that
sadly for many outsiders defines the country My goal now is to return to the region as often
and its history. as possible over the coming years. I would like
to develop my work there into a long term book
My reasons for travelling to Wakhan and the project with the aim of bringing the images to a
Pamir’s were many but mainly I wanted to wider audience and helping them to understand
see for myself this beautiful, unspoilt side of and appreciate that there is so much more to
Afghanistan and witness the traditional way Afghanistan than the simplistic media view of a
of life in an area that has escaped for the most country in perpetual conflict.
Photo scene
Cartoon scene
Look, I never said I had anything against your

left leg - the only problem is, neither have you...
Ski scene
Afghan Scene
Afghan Scene March
March 2010
2010 Afghan Scene March 2010
Ski Bamyan!
IAN MACWILLIAM says Chamonix, Vale and Zermatt have had their day and
that serious skiers should head for Afghanistan’s Central Highlands
SKI SCHOOL: Aga Khan worker Abdullah shows off a pair of skis to locals
T
he mountains of the Koh-e-Baba range A second day of skiing and snowsports is to be
are one of Afghanistan’s great untold held during the three-day Nauroz Festival being
secrets. Rising to 5000 metres (16,000 organised in Bamyan by the Ecotourism Program
feet) within spitting distance of Bamyan from 21-23 March. Two local ski tour guides are
town and its historic Buddhist sites, these being trained to assist future visitors interested
mountains offer world-class backcountry skiing in trying out the backcountry on skis. A guide
potential. And so far, these mountains are to backcountry and cross-country skiing and
virtually unskied. snowshoeing in the Koh-e-Baba and Band-e-
Amir will also be published.
The Bamyan Ecotourism Programme
(implemented by the Aga Khan Development Backcountry skiing does not require ski lifts. You
Network and funded by the New Zealand Agency ski on touring skis. These allow you to walk uphill
for International Development) plans to capitalise with skins stuck under your skis. At the top, you
on Bamyan’s glorious winter months to make the remove the skins and then schuss back to the
province a four-season tourist destination. The bottom. Alternatively, you can ski up and down
Ecotourism Office officially launched its winter gentler slopes on lightweight cross-country skis.
sports programme in Bamyan on 12 March with
a ski and snowshoe party on the slopes above Chad Dear, one of two ski consultants at work
Ali Beg village, in the foothills of Mt Shah Foladi in Bamyan, has substantial experience of
5,143m/ 16,872ft). backcountry skiing in the western USA.
Ski scene
He is impressed with what the Koh-e-Baba has to come to the mountains in the 60s and 70s for
to offer: hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, camping and
even swimming in the creeks.”
“The skiing and snowshoeing potential in the
Koh-e-Baba and Band-e-Amir is tremendous. Security, of course will be a continuing concern.
Each of the Koh-e-Baba valleys from Kalu to In the short term, the Ecotourism Program sees
Kamaty, offers the cross-country skier, snowshoer, its main market as expats working in Afghanistan
as well as the adventurous backcountry skier, who are familiar with the country, and domestic
easily accessible, world-class terrain. As spring Afghan tourists who already visit the province in
comes and the snow melts in the valleys, the large numbers in the summer. Providing services
north-facing slopes of the Koh-e-Baba hold their for these local visitors will help prepare the
snow well into May and June. A single or multi- tourism industry for the future when Afghanistan
day cross-country ski or snowshoe tour of Band- is eventually more settled. The development of
e-Amir may be the best way to experience the backcountry winter sports can add an important
wondrous lakes. The highest peaks in the Koh- new element to Bamyan’s re-emerging tourism
e-Baba reach over 5000m while lower elevation industry, which has the potential to create jobs,
valleys extend back into stunning basins with bring money into the local economy and to help
hidden lakes surrounded by jagged peaks. There reintegrate this battered, mountainous and often
are options for casual walking, rigorous hiking, snowy country.
and mountaineering. Residents of villages along
the north slopes of the Koh-e-Baba are friendly --Ian MacWilliam
and welcoming. They explain how tourists used Communications Officer, AKDN Afghanistan
Bamyan needs skis! If anyone has used skis or snowshoes (or new skis!) they would like to
contribute to get Bamyan skiing, please contact: ian.macwilliam@akdn.org.
Lapis is Afghanistan’s leading

full service strategic
communications company:
Lapis Ltd is the PR division of the award-winning Moby Group (MG) - Afghanistan’s
leading privately owned and integrated media company, with a strong emphasis on client
service and a passion for our clients’ businesses. We are currently recruiting for positions
within our small, thriving consultancy for talented and experienced public relations staff
who have worked in a recognized agency on corporate accounts, preferably on donor-
funded or government projects. You should be comfortable working in a challenging
environment. Our client list includes many well-known Afghan and International
organizations.
Project Officers
You will have the ability to manage complex projects and multiple activities simultaneously,
in a swiftly changing environment. You will have at least 3 years’ experience and at least
one year in a developing or emerging economy. PM experience is essential with some
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Interested applicants please forward your CV and covering letter

to Sarmad Tiwana, HR Director at jobs@lapis.com.af
Lapis is a Moby Group Company – “engaging, educating and entertaining Afghanistan since 2002”
Hit
Party scene
target
the
with
Be scene
Share your event or party pics with Aghan Scene. email editor@afghanscene.com
your
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FREESTLYE EVENT: Skate stars Shauna and Sophie YES’MINSTER: Brit shadow ministers George Osborne (left) and
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47 www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010 57
Party scene Party scene
HAT-TRICK Mademoiselle Marlene with MARKED MAN: Berengere and Mark L TAKE A BAUER: Jack D ducks into shot POLES APART: Sustainable ski man Ian talks back country skins MERRY BELLES: Helene, Zishan, Olivier, Eric and Stephane at
L’Atmo man Jerome at the Altai ski bash making shapes at the snow fest with tousle haired Tom, at the ski party the Altai ski party
BIG MAC: McClatchy man Saeed with US HUGH YOU LOOKIN AT: Hamish and Hugh SNOW WAY: Henri and Dr T at the ON THE PISTE: Glam girl Anna TANKED OUT: Reuters man on a Panjshir jolly
press girl Erin at the Altai ski party at a winter soiree ski party at the Altai Ski bash
Party scene
FUR TRADE: Altai team Jos and Sarah-Jean GASTRO GNOMES: L’Atmo man Ehsan with Marie, Florence
with justice wonk Emily and Matt at the Altai ski scene
GOGGLE EYED: TMF’s Duncan SHELL SHOCKED: Movie man Jake makes SLOPING OFF: Old pals Jess and Dr T on
at the Altai ski party tracksuit shapes the piste at the ski party
Book scene
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AfghanScene
SceneOctober 2009
March 2010 59
Essential scene
Afghan Essentials
Where to stay, where to eat, where to Shop. And how to pay for it.
Afghan Scene Making Life Easier
Hotels and Guesthouses Supermarkets, Grocers & Butchers

Restaurants Cabul Coffeehouse & Café Italian/Pizza
Kabul Serena Hotel Street 6, on the left, Qale-e Fat- Everest Pizza
Street 10, Wazir Akbar Khan A-One
Froshgah Street Delivery ullah Tel: 0752 005 275 Bottom of Shar-e Naw Park
www.serenahotels.com Easyfood www.everestpizza.com
Tel: 0799 654 000 Delivers from any restaurant Le Bistro Tel: 0700 263 636, 0779 317 979 Chelsea
to your home One street up from Chicken Shar-e Naw main road, opposite Kabul
Safi Landmark Hotel & Suites www.easyfood.af Street, Behind the MOI, Bank
Charahi Ansari Shar-e Naw Tel: 0799-598852 Bella Italia
Tel: 0796 555 000, 0796 Street 14, Wazir Akbar Khan
www.safilandmarkhotelsuites.com 555 001 Spinneys
Tel: 0202 203 131 Red Hot Sizzlin’ Steakhouse Tel: 0799 600 666
Wazir Akbar Khan, opposite British
Afghan District 16, Macroyan 1, Nader Embassy
The Inter Continental Hotel Hill Area Tel: 0799 733 468 Springfield Restaurant
Rumi Lane 3, Street 15,Wazir Akbar
Baghe Bala Road Qala-e Fatullah Main Rd, Finest
www.intercontinentalkabul.com Le Pelican Cafe du Kabul Khan Tel: 0799 001 520
between Streets 5 & 6 Wazir Akbar Khan Roundabout
Tel: 0202 201 321 Darulaman Road, almost
Tel: 0799 557 021 opposite the Russian Embassy. Indian
Namaste Fat Man Forest
Gandamack Lodge Hotel Sufi Bright orange guard box. Wazir Akbar Khan, main road.
Sherpur Square Street 15, Wazir Akbar Khan,
Muslim Street, Shar-e Naw Tex Mex Between lanes 2 and 3 on the
Gandamacklodge@yahoo.com www.sufi.com.af Tel: 0774 Enyat Modern Butcher
www.gandamacklodge.co.uk La Cantina right. Tel: 0772 011 120 Qala-e Fatullah main road,
212 256, 0700 210 651 Third left off Butcher St,
Tel: 0700 276 937, 0798 511 111 Delhi Darbar Near street four
Herat Restaurant Shar-e Naw
Mustafa Hotel Tel: 0798 271 915 Shar-e Naw, close to UK Sports
Shar-e Naw, main road, Tel: 0799 324 899 ATMs
Charahi Sadarat Diagonally opposite Cinema
www.mustafahotel.com Lebanese
Park Taverne du Liban Anar Restaurant Kabul City Centre, Shar-e Naw (AIB
Tel: 070 276 021 Lane 3, Street 14,
Khosha Restaurant Street 15, Lane 3, AIB Main Office, Opposite Camp Egg-
Heetal Plaza Hotel Wazir Akbar Khan Wazir Akbar Khan
Above the Golden Star Tel: 0799 567 291 ers (AIB)
Street 14, Wazir Akbar Khan Hotel. Tel: 0799 888 999 Tel: 0799 828 376
www.heetal.com Chinese AIB Shar-e Naw Branch, next to Chelsea
Tel: 0799 167 824, 0799 159 697 Mixed/Western The Grill Supermarket (AIB)
Street 15, Wazir Akbar Khan. Golden Key Seafood
The Lounge Restaurant
UNICA Guest House Lane 2, left, off Street 15, Tel: 0799 818 283, HQ ISAF, Outside Cianos Pizzeria, US
Kolola Pushta, opposite 0799 792 879 Lane 4, Street 13, Wazir Akbar
Wazir Akbar Khan. Tel: 0796 Khan. Tel: 0799 002 800, 0799 Embassy Street (AIB)
Royal Mattress 174 718, 0700 037 634
Tel: 0797 676 357 Cedar House 343 319 KAIA Military Airbase, Outside Cianos
Fat Man/What-a-Burger Cafe Behind Kabul City Centre, Pizzeria, Airport (AIB)
The International Club Shar-e Naw Tel: 0799-121412 Thai
Wazir Akbar Khan, main Mai Thai
Haji Yaqoob Square, Street 3, Shar-e road, On the bend near Finest Supermarket, Wazir Akbar Khan
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301, 0777 151 510 Main road, on the left, between Tel:0796 423 040 World Bank Guard Hut, Street 15 Wazir
Golden Star Hotel
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Tel: 0700 293 124, 0799 Contact sales@afghanscene.com
Tel: 0799 335 424 356 319 Tel: 0799-342928
66 January-February
Afghan Scene March 2010 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com Afghan Scene March 2010 00
Farewell scene Farewell scene
FLAT CHESTED: Hannah sports the armoured look
Cater & Hedge

When did you first come to Afghanistan? he said: Meeting the future Mr Hedges (!)
Baa.....
He said: It’s a bit of a blur, but I think June They said: Brideshead nights, Upper Class to
2006. DXB, DCS breakfasts, beating the US at football,
o’the Yard
She said: well if you will drink the Embassy PX finding Dom Perignon at 95 euros a bottle,
out of dessert wine! Boccacios pizzas, friends coming back, oh and
He said: So how many ambassadors is it for you catching some serious drug traffickers.
then?
She said: I’m on my fourth now (!) and my third Worst of times?
job description since Jan 2005.
Kabul’s answer to Batman and Robin, DAVID CATER and HANNAH HEDGES, hang They said: We came to help the Afghan police He said: being woken at 4am by CP after an IED
up their capes and quit their embassy cave for the final time. Both mentored catch bad guys. attack. Accidentally wiping all my i-tunes music
Afghanistan’s counter-narcotics cops with Britain’s Serious and Organised Crime from my hard-drive. Oh and the time I almost
Agency (SOCA). Best of times? crashed on that notorious UNHAS flight.
She said: ‘Lock downs’ and feeling couped up in
He said: Do you mean the exact split second? the Embassy ‘bubble’, giving away the cat after
She said: Don’t embarrass us... he started hanging round with feral riff-raff,
Farewell scene
BALDY AND SLAPPER: Crime fighting duo share a moment
having to take a knuckle-duster to the bar on electrocuted at the sink due to dodgy Afghan
Thursday nights, friends leaving. wiring, food poisoning (D&V), dust, crap comms
with home, Sherard biting our ankles.
What will you miss most?
Favourite Place in Afghanistan?
He said: My Virgin atlantic Gold card. My fellow
mentors – an excellent team of guys. He said: Camp Phoenix DFAC
She said: You’re right, the sense of camaraderie She said: Why?
within our team was awesome. Making some He said: Baskin Robbins ice-cream of course.
true friends for life, this place is a special club. Where else can you get a little taste of heaven.
They said: Working with the Afghan guys in the She said: Gangina for beautiful clothes that
Project Team and seeing some excellent project transcend the Kings Road.
successes, including the first serious drug They said: Anywhere but the British Embassy:
trafficker banged to rights. Bamyan, Babur Gardens, quiet places such as
the top of Mount Cobra.
What will you miss least?
What happens next?
They said: CP dogging our every step, body
armour, planning our lives 24 hours in advance, They said: A long holiday, moving house (him)
freedom, London ‘not understanding us’, getting and then back to work in London. Huzzah!
Afghan Scene March 2010

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SCENE

Throw off your Kabul bindings

Back country skiing in Bamiyan

perspective • insight • people • reviews • pics • life

ISSUE 68 - MARCH 2010

Publisher: Afghan Scene Ltd, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, Afghanistan

David Gill is a British writer, photographer and videogrpher focusing on a social

Eric Davin is a gallic adventurer turned entrepreneur. In between throwing

BANKABLE: Soldiers sitting outside Da Afghanistan Bank, 1973 | Tom Freston

It’s Gaultier Select

ACTION MAN: Eric prepares for take off

WHERE EAGLES DARE: Soaring over the Salang tunnel

URBAN SKI: Who needs mountains?

Club, Uncle Henri: for him, the art of telemarking

00 Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com www.afghanscene.com LEMAR TV | Scene

Look, I never said I had anything against your

Lapis is Afghanistan’s leading

Interested applicants please forward your CV and covering letter

For full details email

Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com

KABUL CLASSIFIEDS TO LET

, n o t fo r fr iendship, but Come here

Hotels and Guesthouses Supermarkets, Grocers & Butchers

FLAT CHESTED: Hannah sports the armoured look

Cater & Hedge

BALDY AND SLAPPER: Crime fighting duo share a moment

Afghan Scene March 2010 www.afghanscene.com

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