black & white photographs:

An ancient shade tree dominates the market square in Feyzabad.

A panoramic view of the Bamian Valley, taken from near the head of the Great Buddha.

A fully loaded bus heads out of Jalalabad.

A village footpath reveals a glimpse of the Great Buddha (ca. 3 – 5th century A.D.); Bamian Valley.

A young boy or “batcha”, wearing his talisman and typical cap looks askance at the photographer; Jalalabad.

Afghan men resting with their caged partridges and songbirds on the street in Kandahar.

A sidewalk blacksmith finishes another set of horseshoes; Kandahar.

Open air transportation. This is the preferred way to travel; cool, no dust and a great way to experience the countryside.

An elderly Afghan leans from a bus window as it departs a village terminal; Ghazni.

Tending camels at a livestock market near Kabul.

Proprietor at the entrance to a “chai-khana” or tea house. In the background, a man holds a traditional stringed instrument. Konduz Province.

A shopkeeper displays the bamboo insert for a “hubble-bubble” water pipe. He is surrounded by water vessels and other utensils; in the Kabul bazaar.

A desert dweller encountered in the Dasht-i-Margo, the “Desert of Death”, Nimruz Province, southwestern Afghanistan.

A panoramic view of the approach to the village of Feyzabad.

A wood-seller tends his pile of split walnut; the Kabul bazaar.

The final few strokes of a sidewalk haircut elicit a wince from a Kabul man.

Two young Hazara men hauling an unimaginable load through Kabul’s streets.

A horse, a man, and a carriage top.

The remote village of Lash-e Jouayn, in Nimruz Province, near the Iranian border. The distinctive domed construction is called “gumbazee”.

A collection of homes crowd a Kabul hillside.

The winter sky and distant mountain range dominate a panorama of Kabul.

Nomad traders with their camels as they cross the Khyber Pass into Pakistan.

Girls and boys chasing me through the streets of my neighborhood in Kabul.

Selling live lizards and other medicinals on the Jada-I-Maiwand, a major shopping thoroughfare in Kabul.

Nineteen boys cram a back-street shop to laugh and study the Koran; Kabul.

Man, donkeys and rock piles.

Decorations on a Mullahs tomb; near Ghazni.

A young man wearing a “pakol” the distinctive wool felt hat of the region; near Eshkashem, in the Pamir peninsula, far northeastern Afghanistan.

The village of Paghman showing some of the grand homes and compounds there. Located in the foothills of the Hindu Kush some 20 kilometers from Kabul, the town is a cool summer destination for wealthy Kabul residents.

An elderly man carrying a large bundle of fodder stops to speak with a friend; near Jalalabad.

A potter puts finishing touches on a water vessel, turning the wheel with his right foot. Young girls watch from a respectable distance. Bamian Valley.

A bird’s-eye view of a rural residential compound near Kandahar.

Reading in the morning sun, Chicken Street, Kabul.

Riding home late; winter. The mountains of Nooristan, ancient land of the “kafirs” or infidels, rise in the distance. Near Jalalabad.

Sea of sheep; Badakhshan Province.

Crossing a small stream on strategically placed stepping stones; near Kabul.

A village tailor. Taloqan, Takhar Province.

Two donkeys carry building supplies on the busy main street of Feyzabad.

Two youngsters are entrusted with running the family store. This is a common sight throughout Afghanistan.

Aks Mistar? – This is a typical hand gesture made when a subject sees someone with a  camera.  It is often accompanied by the phrase – “Aks Mistar” – take my photo Mister? This one taken on Chicken Street, Kabul.

A Kabul man is caught napping on a typical rope bed, or charpoy.

The Babaie Wale Hotel, located in central Kandahar offers “Happiniss Claen Badrowm  and a Chep Showar”.

Lots of activity can be seen in this landscape view taken in Badakhshan Province.

A sidewalk blacksmith tends to his work while an onlooker enjoys a glass of “chai”.

A young man jokes about his inventory of over-sized under-garments in a Kabul bazaar

The great Buddha (75m – 153 ft) located in the Bamian Valley. Built in the 3rd - 5th century A.D.; this and the smaller Buddhas located nearby were destroyed by Taliban extremists in March 2001.

A detail of the Great Buddha (Bamiyan) shows the remains of the folds in his robe. 

Another view of the Great Buddha (Bamiyan).

A sidewalk shoe repair shops draws a group of early morning customers (Kabul).

Birdcages with neatly-sewn covers soak up the winter sun and cast shadows on a Kandahar street.

This detail of a display case in a Kabul bazaar shows a selection of ethnic Afghan jewelry and other trinkets and semi-precious stones.

A view of the entrance to one Kabul’s many bazaars.

In this view taken along the Kabul River, the exposed dry riverbanks have become a pedestrian thoroughfare.

A bird-sellers shop on a street in Kandahar.

A winter landscape taken in Kandahar.

A shopper examines one of a selection of aluminum cookware in a Kabul bazaar.

At an impromptu bus stop in the desert near Girishk. One man rests as another prays.