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Photo: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Afghan calligrapher Mohammad Sabir Khedri worked for five years to create the world's largest Koran, and man, is it large:
LinkThe lavish book has pages 2.28 meters (90 inches) by 1.55 meters (61 inches) in size ... The Afghan Koran weighs 500 kg (1,100 lb) and its 218 pages of cloth and paper, bound inside an embossed leather cover made from the skins of 21 goats, cost half a million dollars to create.
New York Times photojournalist Joao Silva was embedded with the U.S. military in Afghanistan when a land mine blew his legs off last year. Earlier this month, he made his first trip back to New York and gave a speech at the Bronx Documentary Center, in which he explained what happened.
I heard the mechanic click. I knew: this is not good. And I found myself lying face-down on the ground, engulfed in a cloud of dust, with the very clear knowledge that this has just happened and this is not good. I could see my legs were gone, and everybody around me was dazed. I was like, “Guys, I need help here.” And they turned around and saw me on the ground. They immediately sprang into action. I got dragged out of the kill zone, for safety reasons, to a patch of ground a few yards away.
Immediately, there were medics working on me. I picked up a camera, shot a few frames. The frames weren’t very good, quite frankly, but I was trying to record. I knew it wasn’t good, but I felt alive. Adrenaline kicked in. I was compos mentis; I was on top of things. So, I made some pictures. I dropped the camera, then I moved to Plan B, which was to pick up the satellite phone. I called my wife, Vivian, and told her, “My legs are gone, but I think I’m going to live.” Incidentally, I’m a father of two. I passed the telephone on to the correspondent so she could continue the conversation and keep Vivian calm.
Silva also talks about his recovery, the importance of photojournalism in dangerous places, and what he’s learned about the lingering effects of war. A gallery of his photographs accompany the article. Link -via The Daily What
(Image credit: Joao Silva for the New York Times)
The Ark in Space has some good news from Afghanistan, dressed up in a wonderful collection of snow leopard photographs.
The war torn country is home to a vigorous population of snow leopards. The World Conservation Society recently laid a number of camera traps in the Wakhan Corridor. This mountainous area is a long panhandle in the north east of the country and the camera traps captured snow leopards on film in sixteen places.
This is a remarkable turn out of events as it has been estimated that there are only around seven thousand snow leopards in the world, scattered across a dozen countries in Central Asia. Their habitat is usually over 10,000 feet above sea level but even at these heights snow leopards are often killed by shepherds for harrying their flocks.
The welcome discovery in Afghanistan will not take snow leopards off the endangered list, however. The area borders on Tajikistan, Pakistan, and China. If their area can be made into a reservation, they may be somewhat protected. Link -Thanks, RJ!
(Image credit: Flickr user Tambako the Jaguar)
A 65-meter high minaret stands in Afghanistan, built around 1190 CE. It is covered with religious carvings and calligraphy in more than one language. But this ancient and remote edifice is surrounded by the Hindu Kush mountains in a country at war, so these pictures will be the closest you get to it -for now.
Amazingly, this imposing structure was standing forgotten for centuries… until rediscovered in 1886 by Sir Thomas Holdich; then forgotten again and rediscovered in 1957. Then the Soviet invasion in 1979 again prohibited access to the area, and since then only a handful of people from outside of Afghanistan have seen the minaret, because of its middle-of-nowhere location
Read more about the Minaret of Jam and the ancient multicultural city that once surrounded it. You’ll also see lots more pictures at Dark Roasted Blend. Link
Private First Class Rupert Valero took his toy-making hobby with him -all the way to Afghanistan! Valero is near the end of his year-long deployment, and took time for an interview with blogger Newton Gimmick, in which he talked about making toys out of recycled materials for the local kids, among other things.
I love to create and inspire. Plus, I love kids. So the hobbyist in me started making highly durable and colorful toys for local kids whenever we roll out the FOB. Toys are universal. They bring out happiness and joy on so many levels. Kids here have nothing but rocks and bad habits. I paint on hearts the toys I make for them to associate that with the heart patches sewn on 101st airborne units’ helmets. So when kids who get these toys see the same hearts on US Soldiers, it will click in him ‘these are friends.’
Read the rest at Infinite Hollywood. Link -via Metafilter
See more of Valero’s works in his Flickr stream. Link
The Hammersmith and Fulham Council in England is in the process of selling off a building to make room for the West London free school. Twenty community aid organizations are being evicted. One of them is the Afghan Council UK, which advises refugees from Afghanistan.
The report suggested that refugees who use the centre could instead contact the Southern Afghan Club, reports The Mirror.
The Afghan Council UK offers support to Afghan refugees – while the Southern Afghan Club is a dog appreciation society which organises shows in the south of England.
Labour’s Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter said: “Not only are the Tories selling for a song centres that are a hub for their communities but they’re doing so in an ignorant and cynical way.”
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Photographer Rafaela Persson has lived in Afghanistan since 2008, and spends time getting to know her subjects.
I had an idea to photograph female drug addicts. Afghanistan is the world’s biggest producer of opium, from which heroin is derived. According to a study made by U.N. Drugs and Crimes Office in 2010, the rate of drug addiction in Afghanistan is twice the global average; Afghans have become the leading consumers of their own opium. Approximately one million Afghans, or eight percent of the war-shattered country’s total population is suffering from drug addiction, a 75 percent increase since 2005. What is even more alarming is that studies show that 50 percent of Afghanistan’s opium-using parents give the drug to their own children.
Persson shares her photographs and stories in an essay at Camera Obscura. Link -via Nag on the Lake
(Image credit: Rafaela Persson)
SMITH Magazine has a site where people tell stories in exactly six words. One section is a collaboration with the organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) to share stories about coming home from the war. Link -via Breakfast Links
The world is filled with weird bands, but I dare say that Oddee has found 10 of the weirdest bands that music has ever seen. Take, for instance, the Burqa Band:
The Burqa Band is an all-female indie rock band from Kabul, Afghanistan. They perform anonymously, all of the members wearing burqas in an apparent protest against the Taliban’s rules regarding Islamic dress. They released a single, "Burqa Blue" and a self-titled album in 2002. The group has gained some popularity in Europe in the 2000s, and has toured in Germany, where a song of theirs was remixed by DJ Barbara Morgenstern.
The Burka Band is currently inactive due to the lead singer having to move to Pakistan to find singing work, but the drummer, still anonymous and living in Afghanistan, has expressed hope in playing again in the future.
Read about 9 more weird bands, including jazz-playing hamsters: Link
Flying over the Hindu Kush Mountains in Helmand Province Afghanistan on a cold February day. Shown is Sgt Joseph Wilson at the tail gun surveying the landscape on a CH-53E Marine helicopter. Photo and caption: Jetson Nguyen
That must be some view, though presumably you can’t have any fear of height to appreciate it. That and other very cool photos are in the running to win $10,000 at the annual National Geographic Photography Contest.
The best part is that you are invited to enter your people, places, and nature photographs online (till Nov 30, entry fee $15): Link – Thanks Ethan!
Previously on Neatorama: National Geographic International Photo Contest 2009
Garage rock bands are nothing special in most of the world, but the return of Afghanistan’s first indie rock band shows just how far the country has gone since the days of the Taliban:
Less than a decade ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, a concert like this would have landed them in jail. Playing musical instruments was banned. Singing was allowed, but only songs praising Allah or the Taliban.
Today, Kabul Dreams, as the band is named, is paving the way for a very modest but growing local rock scene. About 100 Afghans and foreigners gather around a makeshift stage with improvised lighting and a sputtering sound system.
Baby-faced singer and guitarist Suleman Qardash repeatedly screams, "I wanna run away" — the album’s title track — as drummer Mujtaba Habibi ramps up the beat.
While the lyrics resonate with an Afghan youth weary of suicide bombings and Taliban attacks, running away is the last thing on the band’s mind. The trio returned to Afghanistan after temporary exile in Iran, Uzbekistan and Pakistan during Taliban rule.
Link | Kabul Dream’s website and YouTube channel
A group of GIs stationed in Afghanistan lip sync and dance to Lady Gaga’s song “Telephone”. They did a great job, but you can almost feel the boredom that inspired this. -via YesButNoButYes
A British military pilot managed to get twenty passengers to the ground despite a bullet between his eyes. Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune was ferrying the wounded from a battle between American troops and the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. As he was taking off with a full load of casualties, a bullet ricocheted through the helicopter and struck Fortune in the face.
Further rounds then struck the helicopter’s automatic stabilisation system, shutting it down and making it extremely difficult to fly.
Despite blood streaming into his eyes, Flight Lt Fortune battled with the controls for eight minutes and managed to get the casualties back to Camp Bastion.
TV Presenter Mike Brewer was on the helicopter when the incident happened. He told Sky News:
“It was terrifying. We came under fire just as the ramp was closing. Then just after we’d taken off the Chinook suddenly lurched from side to side and we heard the pilot had been shot.
“The only reason we didn’t plunge straight back into the desert was because of the sheer bravery and skill of Ian and the rest of the crew. They’re all heroes.”
Lt. Fortune is expected to recover from his injuries. Link -via Fark
Zoos, or at least animal menageries, have been around since at least Roman times when exotic animals were collected for the purpose of being used in battles in the coliseum. During medieval times, the greatest zoo around was actually contained in the Tower of London. It was opened to the public for the first time during the reign of Elizabeth I. During the 18th century, guests could visit the zoo for only three half-pence, or they could come for free if they brought a dog or cat to feed to the lions. This animal collection was eventually moved into the world’s first official “zoo,” the London Zoological Gardens.
Over the years, zoos have moved from being collections of caged animals designed to please the public to expansive parks dedicated to maintaining ecological diversity and conservation. While modern day zoos are mostly safe places where the public can go to see wild, exotic animals, this isn’t always the case. Here are some weird stories relating to modern zoos in honor of Visit The Zoo Day on December 27.
Image Via www.theedinburghblog.com [Flickr]
When the only two zebras in the Mara Land Zoo in Gaza Strip starved to death during the Israel-Hamas war, zoo officials knew they needed the popular creatures in order to entertain the crowds. Unfortunately, replacing the expensive attractions through the secret underground tunnels in the area was not an option for the financially strapped zoo. So keepers did what any good zoologists would do and just faked their zebra collection by painting donkeys to look like their stripped cousins. To give them the dye jobs, zoo keepers used masking tape and black hair dye to create “authentic” stripping patterns on the creatures. While it may sound like a bad solution, many of the zoo’s young guests had never seen a real zebra and were equally impressed by the frauds. I guess it is still better to see a mock wild animal than no wild animals.
Source Image Via Associated Press
What’s exotic to one culture may just be a standard farm animal to another, as evidenced by Khanzir, the only known pig in all of Afghanistan. Because pork products are illegal in the country, the pig is a true rarity in the country, who received Khanzir as a gift from China. As if the poor pig wasn’t lonely enough grazing beside goats and deer, when fear of the swine flu hit the country, he was forced to spend his time in quarantine all by himself.
The zoo director, Mr Saqib explained the zoo’s decision to isolate the animal, despite the knowledge that it would not actually be able to infect the general public, “The only reason we moved him was because Afghan people don’t have a lot of knowledge about swine flu, and so when they see a pig they get worried and think they will get ill.”
Mr. Saqib does have hopes to alleviate the pig’s loneliness though, he says after the swine flu concerns die down, he would like to get Khanzir a female companion. Perhaps then, poor little Khanzir could at least be a member of the only pig family in the country.
If you’ve ever wondered how keepers prepare for the possibility of an animal escaping the zoo, you’re not alone. Fortunately, thanks to the miracle of the internet, a Japanese training session to get keepers prepared for a potential rhino escape has been caught on tape and made its way into your home. The “rhino” in this case is pretty darn terrifying, what with its eight legs and all. While the team’s efforts seem effective, you have to wonder if they would work nearly as well when the beast is actually 1 ton and angry as all heck.
Perhaps those zoo keepers should have worked on their plans for escaped primates rather than escaped rhinos. A video seen on Animal Planet (sorry its not embedded, but they don’t offer that service) demonstrates the terrifying things that happened when a four-hundred pound angry orangutan broke out of its cage and chased tourists and charged security guards. During his escapade in the outside world, Blacky also smashed some scooters and took control of a camera tripod hoping to use it as weapon against the guards who shot him with a tranquilizer dart.
In the shot, you see just how long it takes for a huge animal to fall after getting shot with a tranquilizer dart –meaning the rhino training exercise certainly was optimistic about that part of the procedure.
In nature, it is not uncommon for a mother to abandon her cub. Some environmentalists claim that the best thing to do in these situations is to let nature take its course and let the cub die off. But when the animal is already affected by human intervention because it lives in a zoo, it seems more than a little cold-hearted to just abandon the cub. Zookeeper Thomas Dörflein agreed, which is why he saved a two newborn polar bears that were abandoned by their mother.
One of the bears died of an infection within four days, but the other, Knut, was hand raised by Dörflein, who provided the cub with around-the-clock care. Only a few months into little Knut’s life, a German tabloid carried an article about Knut that featured a quote by animal rights activist Frank Albrecht, who said the bear should have been left to die rather than be subjected to a life as “a domestic pet.” The director of another local zoo agreed with Albrect and said that keepers should have “had the courage to let the bear die.” To be fair, both of the people quoted said they were taken out of context and Dörflein has said that he was making a point about a German court’s decision saying that it was OK for another zoo to have euthanized an abandoned cub in a similar situation.
Naturally, animal lovers everywhere rallied in support of the little bear and the Berlin Zoo vowed to keep him alive and care for him. As a result of the controversy, Knut became a worldwide celebrity and videos of the little cub with his zookeeper were loaded onto YouTube for everyone to marvel at. His fame brought so many visitors to the zoo that it soon experienced its most profitable year out of its entire 163 year history.
As Knut grew older, he continued to be a popular attraction for visitors and he is still living at the zoo. Unfortunately, Dörflein died of a heart attack in 2008, although he remains a hero to many residents of Berlin.
Source Image Via Jean-Luc [Wikipedia Commons]
A long time ago (actually as recent as 1958 in Brussels), it wasn’t uncommon for humans of other races to be displayed in zoos alongside exotic animals. While racism in that time is not unusual, having people live in a zoo these days certainly is. But in 2007, the Adelaide Zoo in Australia ran a zoo exhibit where humans were housed in a former ape enclosure (they did get to go home at night). Inhabitants took part in a number of exercises and the amused onlookers were then asked for donations towards a new enclosure for a new exhibit for the chimpanzees.
You can’t keep a good bomb-sniffing dog down. Sabi, a sniffer dog that got lost when an Australian unit was ambushed in Afghanistan 14 months ago, has been found:
The black labrador bitch was with a joint Australian-Afghan patrol that was ambushed in Uruzgan province in September 2008.
Nine Australian soldiers, including Sabi’s trainer, were wounded in the exchange.
After the battle there was no sign of the dog, and months of searching failed to find her. Sabi was officially declared Missing In Action.
An Australian military spokesman said it would probably never be known exactly what had happened to Sabi in the 14 months she was missing, but the fact that she was in good condition indicated she had been cared for by someone.
Previously on Neatorama: Welcome Home
Former British soldier Shaun Clark spent over four hours in a tattoo parlor yesterday, celebrating Remembrance Day by having the names of all 223 British soldiers who died in Afghanistan tattooed on his body.
He said: ‘I don’t mind suffering for a few days if I can let the lads know that people really care about what they’re doing out there, and raise some money for the guys coming home wounded as well.
‘The family thought I was mad to begin with, but they’ve come round to the idea now, and my wife is backing me all the way.’
The married father-of-two from Doncaster hopes his challenge will raise £500 for the charity Help for Heroes.
He plans on updating the sombre list every year on Remembrance Day if required.
Tattoo artist Kevin Kent donated his services free of charge. Link -via Digg
(image credit: Ross Parry Agency)
It takes a true friend to wear a dress to a funeral -if you’re a man. Barry Delaney of Dundee, Scotland wore a lime green minidress to the funeral of a soldier killed in Afghanistan to fulfill a pact the two had made.
Private Kevin Elliott and his friend, Barry Delaney, had agreed that whoever survived the other should wear a dress to the dead man’s funeral. Mr Delaney duly fulfilled the pledge as a tribute to Private Elliott, who was killed aged 24 while on foot patrol in the southern province of Helmand on August 31.
Mr Delaney wept on his knees at the graveside in Dundee as shots were fired during the military funeral. His dress plans are believed to have been known about in advance by other mourners.
Elliot, who had fulfilled his hitch and could have left the army, decided instead to fight in Afghanistan at the last minute. Hundreds turned out for the funeral. Link -via Fark
Photo: Michael Yon
Reporter and former Green Beret Michael Yon took a series of intriguing photos of glowing rotor blades as a helicopter lands in a military base in Afghanistan. The eerie "halo" is caused by static electricity generated as the titanium/nickel blades move through a field of dust (which is kicked up from the ground as the heli lands).
The phenomenon, striking as it is, has no name – and Michael decided to name it the Kopp-Etchells Effect, as a tribute, after Corporal Benjamin Kopp and Corporal Joseph Etchells, who died in battle.
The full story at Michael’s blog: Link via TYWKIWDBI
Boxers or briefs? That is the age old question most guys ponder. For one Fort Worth soldier currently based in Afghanistan, his preference was revealed in a widely circulated photo that has made him famous. 19-year-old Army Specialist Zachary Boyd was sleeping in his quarters in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan when his base was attacked by Taliban insurgents. Boyd immediately rushed to a defensive position clad in his helmet, body armor, and pink ‘I Love NY’ boxers. An Associated Press photographer happened to be embedded with the unit and snapped the picture.
Boyd was home on leave last March, but his return flight was delayed in New York City. A buddy’s sister took him on a whirlwind tour and that’s when he bought the pink shorts, his mother said.
He no doubt selected pink boxers as a joke to share with his fellow soldiers, Sheree Boyd said.
“They like to have a good time,” she explained about the soldiers, “to deal with the tension.”
There has been plenty of that; just read the news. His mother said he has been in at least 200 firefights.
“They have something going on just about every day, and some times all day long,” Sheree Boyd said. “As a mother, it really turns your stomach up.”
(image credit: AP/David Guttenfelder)
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
Due to fear of swine flu, Afghanistan has quarantined its pig. Yes, the nation’s only pig, normally on display along with other exotic wildlife at the Kabul Zoo.
The pig is a curiosity in Muslim Afghanistan, where pork and pig products are illegal because they are considered irreligious, and has been in quarantine since Sunday after visitors expressed alarm it could spread the new flu strain.
“For now the pig is under quarantine, we built it a room because of swine influenza,” Aziz Gul Saqib, director of Kabul Zoo, told Reuters. “We’ve done this because people are worried about getting the flu.”
Link -via YesButNoButYes
The Buddhas of Bamyan, the City of Screams, the Minarets of Ghazni, the Blue Mosque – these are just some of the incredible sites of Afghanistan. Astonishing lakes, ancient destroyed cities and breathtaking landscapes may persuade you to think a little differently about this war torn but still spectacular country. Perhaps in ten years we will talk about our visits to Afghanistan as casually as we do our vacations to Florida.
Although it is not considered safe for tourists at the moment, many look forward to being able to visit Afghanistan in the near future. Why? Take a look at some of the remarkable places you would be able to visit and decide for yourself. Would you take a vacation to Afghanistan?
Link – via webphemera
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by taliesyn30.
Gregory Warner took his accordion to Afghanistan hoping to make friends. The reception he received was not at all as he expected. He found himself compared to an Afghan pop star from 30 years ago! Link -Thanks, Jessica Frank!
