Herat

I didn't know what to expect of Afghanistan. I didn't have any plans, information or a guidebook.
I ended up in a friendly hotel and met a young man who spoke some English and showed me around the city. Together we visited the fort, some mausolea of famous philosophers and poets, the mosque and a shrine where people come to ask Allah to cure a disease, bless them with a child or oust a demon.
Herat turned out to be a delightful city littered with historical sites, many of them still in use, and friendly hospitable people.

I attracted a lot of attention and it was difficult to take natural photo's of men. Whenever they saw me, and I stood out quite a bit, all hope for an unposed picture was lost. More often than not I was spotted long before I could point my camera. But luckily the men were all too eager to be photographed and posed pictures can have a charm and intimity all of their own.


This photograph was taken at the market around Herat fort. I was quite surprised how easily the women could be photographed. Some ran off when they saw my camera, but most simply ignored me. I had to work quickly and unsuspectitly, because the women (and me) could get in trouble if they were found to be photographed.


There are shops that sell these type of clothes everywhere, but the only women you see on the street our covered head to toe in a burka. But at least women are not obliged to cover themselves completely by law and can buy whatever clothes they want. Although the Taliban are not in power anymore, their influence on society remains strong and many people still fear them.