Ariana Afghan Airlines was established on January 27, 1955. During the 1970s, Ariana was considered a top notch airline company by many travel experts.[citation needed] At that time, the airline operated aircraft such as the Douglas DC-10s and Boeing 727s. Ariana was owned 49% by Pan Am and 51% by the Afghan government.
more info here
http://maslinka.com/
After the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989 and collapse of former president Najibulla's communist government, the Taliban took over Kabul in 1996. Afghanistan faced substantial economic sanctions from the international sector during the Taliban regime. The sanctions, along with the Taliban government's control of the company and the grounding of many of the carrier's international flights, had a devastating effect on the economic health of the company through the 1990s. The fleet was reduced to only a handful of Russian and Ukrainian built An-26s, Yakovlev Yak-40s and three Boeing 727s, which were used on the longest domestic routes. In October 1996, Pakistan provided a temporary maintenance and operational base at Karachi. By 1999, Ariana flew only to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; also, limited cargo flights continued into China's western provinces. However, sanctions imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 1267 forced the airline company to suspend overseas operations. In November 2001, the airline was grounded completely.
Following the removal of the Taliban by NATO and Afghan Northern Alliance forces in the wake of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, Ariana began to rebuild its operations in December 2001. About a month later, the UN sanctions were finally lifted, permitting the airline to fly again. As a gesture of good-will and a step towards developing foreign relations with Afghanistan, the government of India gave the state carrier three ex-Air India Airbus A300s. Ariana resumed flights to international destinations, and its first international passenger flight since 1999 landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Kabul Zoo
History of Kabul Zoo
Since the most recent war in Afghanistan, the IZE web site has received a number of inquiries concerning the Kabul Zoo and the welfare of its animals. The article below, written by IZE’s Asian Representative, Sally Walker, describes the current situation as well as the history of the zoo.
Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is completely landlocked,
surrounded by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and
Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, and Iran. It is one of the poorest
countries in the world. It is a dry and cold country with diverse albeit
sparse flora and a diverse and numerous fauna species for such a small
country. Afghanistan is about one-sixth the size of India.
Mammal species of Afghanistan, many of which are common with Indian
and other south Asian countries, number more than 100, many of them
very highly endangered. Large and medium sized mammals include
snow leopard, markor, urial, ibex, leopard, Marco Polo sheep (bharal),
bears, wolves, foxes, hyenas, jackals, and wild boar. Small mammals
include mongoose, hedgehogs, shrews, hares, mouse hares, bats, and
various rodents. Over 380 species of birds have been recorded in the
country and about half that number breed there.
It has been described as a land of "marginal environment" with
enormous stress on the land by people too poor to buy fuel and buy
domestic livestock. This has resulted in soil erosion, and poor
irrigation practices have reduced or destroyed the land. The Afghan
government is said to be aware of the environmental problems but war
pressures are an enormous distraction and also cause further
disturbance to the environment.
The combination of occupation, war, religious prejudice, political
disturbance has -- to a great extent -- alienated Afghanistan from
the rest of the world. The confusing and controversial role the
country played in the hijacking of an Air India flight from Katmandu
has further alienated Afghanistan from many other countries.
Afghanistan's many problems have had a devastating effect on the
Kabul Zoo. Horror stories from active wartime and political
revolution have appeared in the press from time to time. Even
today, foreign journalists occasionally write about the conditions in
Kabul Zoo, Afghanistan, appealing to any kind of activists or
concerned humans to find a solution for the tormented and
innocent animals.
Some readers may think that the zoo in a country like Afghanistan
might never have been much different, but it is not so. At one time
the Kabul Zoo was a proud institution.
History of Kabul Zoo
The Faculty of Science of Kabul University used to keep some animal
collections for research. The public became interested in these
animals which led to an idea of founding a proper zoo. A "Committee
of Zoological Projects" in Afghanistan was founded by the President
HRH Prince Nader with members taken from the Royal Afghan
government, the Municipality of Kabul, and zoologists from the science
faculty at the University of Kabul. Gunther Nogge, today the very well
known Director of Cologne Zoo, Germany and former President of the
World Zoo Organization, was on deputation as a professor in Afghanistan
at this time and was much involved with the zoo. A large site for the zoo
was selected and made available by the Municipality of Kabul on the
bank of the Kabul River. The zoo was inaugurated in 1967 and a year
later the first department of a zoological museum was added. The zoo
was supported financially by the Government while technical and
scientific input was left to Afghan and visiting German zoologists.
German zoo experts trained the Afghan zookeepers and taxidermists.
Modern for that time, moated enclosures were constructed in the
interests of the animals themselves, the animal keepers, the zoo
visitors and even for economic reasons. Since most of the animals
were native and habituated to the climate, expensive pucca
constructions which are a requirement in other cold or temperate
countries were not necessary. The Faculty of Science at Kabul
University maintained a close connection with Kabul Zoo and a number
of research publications were generated on parasitological
investigations and successful breeding.
The focus of the zoo was Afghan fauna. In 1972 there were 32
species of mammals, 85 species of birds and 4 species of reptiles.
The total number of animals in the zoo was 417, nearly all of which
were collected in Afghanistan. There was also a lion, a tiger, some
pheasants and parrots. Twenty five years ago there were several rare
species listed in the Red Data Book of IUCN and others which were
rarely seen in captivity.
Cologne Zoo, Germany, contributed the pair of tigers which were
possibly (Panthera tigris) or perhaps an undeterminate subspecies. The
1969 Red Data Book of IUCN estimated that the total number of the
Caspian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) ranging through northern
Afghanistan, Turkestan and northern Iran was 50 to 80. Dr. Gunther
Nogge conducted several expeditions to the Amu Darya region, however,
and was convinced that the sub-species no longer existed in
Afghanistan.
The zoo maintained the Afghanistan leopard which could be seen only
in six zoos of the world at the time. In 1973 a snow leopard was
donated from "royal breeding stock" of the King along with some other
animals. (Anon., 1973).
Kabul Zoo then exhibited the Pallas' Cat, which any zoo today would
love to have or any wildlife biologist would love to just see. Other
small cats in the zoo were Lynx and Leopard cat. Other animals were
wolves, jackals, foxes, martens, otters, and striped hyenas. Two
species of bears, Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) as well as the
Black Bear (Selenarctos tibetanus) native to Afghanistan were kept in a
modern open-moated enclosures. Nogge says the eye-to-eye distance
from the visitors in a naturalistic setting made them very popular.
The Turkish people contributed another bear, a young male of (Ursus
arctos syriacus) (Nogge, 1973).
The zoo had a breeding group of the rare Bactrian Wapiti (Cervus
elephanus bactrianus) Endangered by cultivation and pastoral
practices, the deer was protected in a sanctuary established by the
King in Ajar Valley, Central Afghanistan. The zoo also kept a small
herd of the Goitered Gazelle (Gazella subgutterosa) in 1972 was
reported to be "nearly extinct due to uncontrolled hunting" (Nogge,
1973).
An early attempt at an ecological display was the large moated
enclosure including an artificial mountain where Afghan red sheep,
(Ovis ammon cycloceros), Marmots (Marmota caudata) and Snowcocks
(Tetraogallus himalayensis) were exhibited together. Other mountain
ungulates exhibited at the zoo were Ibex (Capra ibex) and Bezoar wild
goat (Capra hircus). The Bactrian red deer and Afghanistan red sheep
bred in 1973. (Nogge, 1973)
The founders of the zoo and their German advisors did well for
Afghanistan for that period. Even a pond enclosure to mimic
Afghanistan's well-known waterfowl lake, Ab-e-Istada, was included
where one could see Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus),
Spoonbills (Platalea leucocoridia), Stilts (Himantopus himantopus),
Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna) and Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea).
In addition Afghan pheasants were kept and bred in a pheasantry
besides several exotic species. Afghan subspecies of the common
pheasant (Phasianus colchicus bianchii) lives only in northern
Afghanistan. Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) as well as
Koklass Pucrasia macrolopha is from Nuristan in east Afghanistan
(Nogge, 1973).
The zoo was very popular with visitors and press. In 1972 the number
of visitors was more than 150,000, an increase of more than 20% over
the previous (Nogge, 1973). Thus, public interest could be fired
about wildlife problems in Afghanistan. The first hunting law was
drafted with a proposal for the establishment of wildlife reserves in
different parts of the country. (Nogge, 1973)
Kabul Zoo was given a young female elephant, promised by Indian
President Sri Giri on the occasion of a state visit. Immediately
when the commitment was made plans were drawn up and construction
for the enclosure began. This was in late 1973. In the same year
Drs.Gunther Nogge who served as Scientific Advisor for Kabul Zoo left
and Mr. G. Kuhnert took over the job. (Anon., 1973).
Kabul Zoo today, according to the occasional visitor and welfare
organizations, is not faring well. It is still supported by the
Kabul Municipal authority or the Taliban Mayor of Kabul but the war
and political instability as well as social and economic
difficulties have taken a vast toll. There is no legislation or
official agreement for the zoo which, then, is at the mercy of the
inclination of the government officials which happen to be holding
the Municipal posts.
A report on 25 January 1998 from London Times correspondent in
Afghanistan, Stephen Grey indicates that the Kabul Zoo is in great
difficulty. At present the zoo hold a pair of lions, 6 bears, 1 wild
boar, 2 wolves, 2 foxes, and 6 rabbits. It is not known precisely
how many were killed during the recent civil war. It is known that
the male lion was blinded by a grenade explosion thrown by soldiers
in retaliation when the lion mauled a colleague who went into the
cage on a dare. A bear has a gunshot wound in the leg. Many
animals have been shot for food. What remain are freezing as there
is no power or fuel to heat their cages in the minus 19 degree cold.
An 60 year old head keeper who had worked in the zoo for decades was
taken from his hut and murdered by unknown persons. The animals’
position is far worse without Akbar - he stayed when the other keepers
left and sneaked out of the zoo at night to find food for the surviving
animals. Grey says the zoo is a "favorite of Taliban soldiers on leave from
the front line" - but for the wrong reasons: the keepers are unable to stop
them from throwing snowballs at the animals, who already have
tolerated more from man than any creature should.
The zoo is located 20 km from the front line of the civil war which
is too close for comfort - or safety - of the animals. It is, as Grey says, a "zoo of horror" today.
References
Anon., (1973) International Zoo News, Vol. 20.
Grey,S. (1998) Wounded Animals at Bay in Kabul's Zoo of Horror.
London Times, p. 14. London.
Nogge, G. (1972) Kabul Zoo the Show-window of Afghan Fauna. The
Outdoorman, Monthly, Volume III, Number (2&3), October/November:
1972.
Nogge, G. (1973) Kabul Zoo. International Zoo News, 20:4/114.
Since the most recent war in Afghanistan, the IZE web site has received a number of inquiries concerning the Kabul Zoo and the welfare of its animals. The article below, written by IZE’s Asian Representative, Sally Walker, describes the current situation as well as the history of the zoo.
Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is completely landlocked,
surrounded by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and
Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, and Iran. It is one of the poorest
countries in the world. It is a dry and cold country with diverse albeit
sparse flora and a diverse and numerous fauna species for such a small
country. Afghanistan is about one-sixth the size of India.
Mammal species of Afghanistan, many of which are common with Indian
and other south Asian countries, number more than 100, many of them
very highly endangered. Large and medium sized mammals include
snow leopard, markor, urial, ibex, leopard, Marco Polo sheep (bharal),
bears, wolves, foxes, hyenas, jackals, and wild boar. Small mammals
include mongoose, hedgehogs, shrews, hares, mouse hares, bats, and
various rodents. Over 380 species of birds have been recorded in the
country and about half that number breed there.
It has been described as a land of "marginal environment" with
enormous stress on the land by people too poor to buy fuel and buy
domestic livestock. This has resulted in soil erosion, and poor
irrigation practices have reduced or destroyed the land. The Afghan
government is said to be aware of the environmental problems but war
pressures are an enormous distraction and also cause further
disturbance to the environment.
The combination of occupation, war, religious prejudice, political
disturbance has -- to a great extent -- alienated Afghanistan from
the rest of the world. The confusing and controversial role the
country played in the hijacking of an Air India flight from Katmandu
has further alienated Afghanistan from many other countries.
Afghanistan's many problems have had a devastating effect on the
Kabul Zoo. Horror stories from active wartime and political
revolution have appeared in the press from time to time. Even
today, foreign journalists occasionally write about the conditions in
Kabul Zoo, Afghanistan, appealing to any kind of activists or
concerned humans to find a solution for the tormented and
innocent animals.
Some readers may think that the zoo in a country like Afghanistan
might never have been much different, but it is not so. At one time
the Kabul Zoo was a proud institution.
History of Kabul Zoo
The Faculty of Science of Kabul University used to keep some animal
collections for research. The public became interested in these
animals which led to an idea of founding a proper zoo. A "Committee
of Zoological Projects" in Afghanistan was founded by the President
HRH Prince Nader with members taken from the Royal Afghan
government, the Municipality of Kabul, and zoologists from the science
faculty at the University of Kabul. Gunther Nogge, today the very well
known Director of Cologne Zoo, Germany and former President of the
World Zoo Organization, was on deputation as a professor in Afghanistan
at this time and was much involved with the zoo. A large site for the zoo
was selected and made available by the Municipality of Kabul on the
bank of the Kabul River. The zoo was inaugurated in 1967 and a year
later the first department of a zoological museum was added. The zoo
was supported financially by the Government while technical and
scientific input was left to Afghan and visiting German zoologists.
German zoo experts trained the Afghan zookeepers and taxidermists.
Modern for that time, moated enclosures were constructed in the
interests of the animals themselves, the animal keepers, the zoo
visitors and even for economic reasons. Since most of the animals
were native and habituated to the climate, expensive pucca
constructions which are a requirement in other cold or temperate
countries were not necessary. The Faculty of Science at Kabul
University maintained a close connection with Kabul Zoo and a number
of research publications were generated on parasitological
investigations and successful breeding.
The focus of the zoo was Afghan fauna. In 1972 there were 32
species of mammals, 85 species of birds and 4 species of reptiles.
The total number of animals in the zoo was 417, nearly all of which
were collected in Afghanistan. There was also a lion, a tiger, some
pheasants and parrots. Twenty five years ago there were several rare
species listed in the Red Data Book of IUCN and others which were
rarely seen in captivity.
Cologne Zoo, Germany, contributed the pair of tigers which were
possibly (Panthera tigris) or perhaps an undeterminate subspecies. The
1969 Red Data Book of IUCN estimated that the total number of the
Caspian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) ranging through northern
Afghanistan, Turkestan and northern Iran was 50 to 80. Dr. Gunther
Nogge conducted several expeditions to the Amu Darya region, however,
and was convinced that the sub-species no longer existed in
Afghanistan.
The zoo maintained the Afghanistan leopard which could be seen only
in six zoos of the world at the time. In 1973 a snow leopard was
donated from "royal breeding stock" of the King along with some other
animals. (Anon., 1973).
Kabul Zoo then exhibited the Pallas' Cat, which any zoo today would
love to have or any wildlife biologist would love to just see. Other
small cats in the zoo were Lynx and Leopard cat. Other animals were
wolves, jackals, foxes, martens, otters, and striped hyenas. Two
species of bears, Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) as well as the
Black Bear (Selenarctos tibetanus) native to Afghanistan were kept in a
modern open-moated enclosures. Nogge says the eye-to-eye distance
from the visitors in a naturalistic setting made them very popular.
The Turkish people contributed another bear, a young male of (Ursus
arctos syriacus) (Nogge, 1973).
The zoo had a breeding group of the rare Bactrian Wapiti (Cervus
elephanus bactrianus) Endangered by cultivation and pastoral
practices, the deer was protected in a sanctuary established by the
King in Ajar Valley, Central Afghanistan. The zoo also kept a small
herd of the Goitered Gazelle (Gazella subgutterosa) in 1972 was
reported to be "nearly extinct due to uncontrolled hunting" (Nogge,
1973).
An early attempt at an ecological display was the large moated
enclosure including an artificial mountain where Afghan red sheep,
(Ovis ammon cycloceros), Marmots (Marmota caudata) and Snowcocks
(Tetraogallus himalayensis) were exhibited together. Other mountain
ungulates exhibited at the zoo were Ibex (Capra ibex) and Bezoar wild
goat (Capra hircus). The Bactrian red deer and Afghanistan red sheep
bred in 1973. (Nogge, 1973)
The founders of the zoo and their German advisors did well for
Afghanistan for that period. Even a pond enclosure to mimic
Afghanistan's well-known waterfowl lake, Ab-e-Istada, was included
where one could see Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus),
Spoonbills (Platalea leucocoridia), Stilts (Himantopus himantopus),
Shelducks (Tadorna tadorna) and Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea).
In addition Afghan pheasants were kept and bred in a pheasantry
besides several exotic species. Afghan subspecies of the common
pheasant (Phasianus colchicus bianchii) lives only in northern
Afghanistan. Himalayan Monal (Lophophorus impejanus) as well as
Koklass Pucrasia macrolopha is from Nuristan in east Afghanistan
(Nogge, 1973).
The zoo was very popular with visitors and press. In 1972 the number
of visitors was more than 150,000, an increase of more than 20% over
the previous (Nogge, 1973). Thus, public interest could be fired
about wildlife problems in Afghanistan. The first hunting law was
drafted with a proposal for the establishment of wildlife reserves in
different parts of the country. (Nogge, 1973)
Kabul Zoo was given a young female elephant, promised by Indian
President Sri Giri on the occasion of a state visit. Immediately
when the commitment was made plans were drawn up and construction
for the enclosure began. This was in late 1973. In the same year
Drs.Gunther Nogge who served as Scientific Advisor for Kabul Zoo left
and Mr. G. Kuhnert took over the job. (Anon., 1973).
Kabul Zoo today, according to the occasional visitor and welfare
organizations, is not faring well. It is still supported by the
Kabul Municipal authority or the Taliban Mayor of Kabul but the war
and political instability as well as social and economic
difficulties have taken a vast toll. There is no legislation or
official agreement for the zoo which, then, is at the mercy of the
inclination of the government officials which happen to be holding
the Municipal posts.
A report on 25 January 1998 from London Times correspondent in
Afghanistan, Stephen Grey indicates that the Kabul Zoo is in great
difficulty. At present the zoo hold a pair of lions, 6 bears, 1 wild
boar, 2 wolves, 2 foxes, and 6 rabbits. It is not known precisely
how many were killed during the recent civil war. It is known that
the male lion was blinded by a grenade explosion thrown by soldiers
in retaliation when the lion mauled a colleague who went into the
cage on a dare. A bear has a gunshot wound in the leg. Many
animals have been shot for food. What remain are freezing as there
is no power or fuel to heat their cages in the minus 19 degree cold.
An 60 year old head keeper who had worked in the zoo for decades was
taken from his hut and murdered by unknown persons. The animals’
position is far worse without Akbar - he stayed when the other keepers
left and sneaked out of the zoo at night to find food for the surviving
animals. Grey says the zoo is a "favorite of Taliban soldiers on leave from
the front line" - but for the wrong reasons: the keepers are unable to stop
them from throwing snowballs at the animals, who already have
tolerated more from man than any creature should.
The zoo is located 20 km from the front line of the civil war which
is too close for comfort - or safety - of the animals. It is, as Grey says, a "zoo of horror" today.
References
Anon., (1973) International Zoo News, Vol. 20.
Grey,S. (1998) Wounded Animals at Bay in Kabul's Zoo of Horror.
London Times, p. 14. London.
Nogge, G. (1972) Kabul Zoo the Show-window of Afghan Fauna. The
Outdoorman, Monthly, Volume III, Number (2&3), October/November:
1972.
Nogge, G. (1973) Kabul Zoo. International Zoo News, 20:4/114.
Afgha Dogs
Why Dogs Miss the Taliban...
KABUL (Afghanistan) — Say what you will about the freshly-ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan; we've all heard how their strict, totalitarian form of government forbade kite-flying, beard-cutting and Arnold Schwarzenegger films. But one restriction will be sorely missed by many four-footed Afghans: the prohibition of dog-fighting.
Mama Kharay is the ringmaster for the games.
He had been imprisoned by the Taliban for violating
the dog fight ban, but now he's back in business.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
As soon as the Taliban leadership was quashed, Afghan men wasted no time in reinstating the old tradition of Friday morning dogfights (I say "Afghan men", based on the observation that at the last spectacle there was not a single woman present amid some 500 spectators).
However, one important note must be made regarding dog fights in Afghanistan. Unlike the Western tradition of illegal dog-fighting, Afghan dogs do not fight to the death, and often there is no bloodshed at all. These dog fights have been described more like wrestling matches, where one dog is victorious after pinning its opponent to the ground or frightening it out of the ring. In addition, there is not (yet) any profitable motive, as the winner receives nothing more than applause, and betting, while present, is not widespread.
Two dogs, "Palang" (left) and "Shair" draw an enormous
crowd in the Kabul neighborhood of Chamane Babrak.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
Here is one reluctant contestant, just before entering the ring.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
...and after.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
Under the Taliban government, sports such as football, cricket and martial arts were encouraged in lieu of dog fights and bird fights, but this crowd seems to have a less-refined taste in sports. Of course, as with any other major sporting events, vendors circulate through the audience selling peanuts, raisins, cigarettes and chewing gum.
Most spectators say that they are only casual observers who do not wager but merely stop by to see the excitement. A Radio Free Europe correspondent who was present at last week's fight quoted one Russian-speaking man: "We come by here every Friday. There are people here who [gamble] also. But we don't do that. We see the dog fights here so we stop and watch them." (Click here for the full report from RFE/RL.)
They're all waiting. The show must go on.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
The dog fights, which begin at 10:00 each Friday morning, generally consist of only about three or four matches and last only an hour or so. Friday is a Muslim holy day, and spectators must leave to attend noontime prayers.
KABUL (Afghanistan) — Say what you will about the freshly-ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan; we've all heard how their strict, totalitarian form of government forbade kite-flying, beard-cutting and Arnold Schwarzenegger films. But one restriction will be sorely missed by many four-footed Afghans: the prohibition of dog-fighting.
Mama Kharay is the ringmaster for the games.
He had been imprisoned by the Taliban for violating
the dog fight ban, but now he's back in business.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
As soon as the Taliban leadership was quashed, Afghan men wasted no time in reinstating the old tradition of Friday morning dogfights (I say "Afghan men", based on the observation that at the last spectacle there was not a single woman present amid some 500 spectators).
However, one important note must be made regarding dog fights in Afghanistan. Unlike the Western tradition of illegal dog-fighting, Afghan dogs do not fight to the death, and often there is no bloodshed at all. These dog fights have been described more like wrestling matches, where one dog is victorious after pinning its opponent to the ground or frightening it out of the ring. In addition, there is not (yet) any profitable motive, as the winner receives nothing more than applause, and betting, while present, is not widespread.
Two dogs, "Palang" (left) and "Shair" draw an enormous
crowd in the Kabul neighborhood of Chamane Babrak.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
Here is one reluctant contestant, just before entering the ring.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
...and after.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
Under the Taliban government, sports such as football, cricket and martial arts were encouraged in lieu of dog fights and bird fights, but this crowd seems to have a less-refined taste in sports. Of course, as with any other major sporting events, vendors circulate through the audience selling peanuts, raisins, cigarettes and chewing gum.
Most spectators say that they are only casual observers who do not wager but merely stop by to see the excitement. A Radio Free Europe correspondent who was present at last week's fight quoted one Russian-speaking man: "We come by here every Friday. There are people here who [gamble] also. But we don't do that. We see the dog fights here so we stop and watch them." (Click here for the full report from RFE/RL.)
They're all waiting. The show must go on.
(Photo: Jan 18, 2002, Enric Marti / AP)
The dog fights, which begin at 10:00 each Friday morning, generally consist of only about three or four matches and last only an hour or so. Friday is a Muslim holy day, and spectators must leave to attend noontime prayers.
Afghan lost Sometimes
Afghan tales: Conflict and chaos
Spies, soldiers, diplomats and ordinary people who have lived through Afghanistan's decades of turmoil speak to Alan Johnston, the BBC's former Kabul correspondent.
Shabibi Shah in the 1960s
Shabibi Shah (l) in Afghanistan during the 1960s
The old woman was gazing out of the glass doors into her small, neat, English garden. But as she talked, she was reliving a moment from her traumatic Afghan past.
"He was beaten," she said. "He lost his four front teeth."
Shabibi Shah was remembering her husband Zafar's emergence from prison. He had been jailed by the Afghan communists, who were then in power.
"He wasn't himself. We had to admit him to a hospital - a mental hospital.
"He went crazy for a while, until he got better - and then they put him in prison for other reasons. They were just trying to destroy people who were against them."
Eventually the family fled in 1980. Mrs Shah endured some of the hardest days of her life as she walked through the mountains with her children to the safety of Pakistan, before eventually settling in Britain.
I had asked her to tell me her story in the course of making a radio documentary - a history of modern Afghanistan.
Our project involved raking through three decades' worth of the BBC's archives. We contacted Afghans in Kabul and elsewhere, and spoke to soldiers and diplomats and former spies - Russian, American, British and Pakistani.
Upheaval
I was repeatedly and powerfully reminded of the sheer extent of the suffering that the many years of war and political upheaval have inflicted on the Afghan people.
Like Mrs Shah, almost every Afghan has an extraordinary story.
Abdul Baseer was just a teenager at the start of the communist era.
He told us how he was picked up on the street and flown by helicopter to a remote outpost in the mountains.
He was meant to be turned immediately into a soldier and put on the frontline in the regime's fight against the mujahideen guerrillas.
"They had mined the whole area around the garrison so you couldn't escape," said Mr Baseer.
"People were obviously thinking about how to get out of that place rather than enthusiastically thinking about being part of that wonderful army."
Brutality
One Russian officer, Oleg Kulakov, knew all about the brutal realities of life on Afghan battlefields.
He told the programme of the ambushes, and the fear and frenzy of mujahideen assaults in the night.
Mujahideen soldiers celebrate victory
The mujahideen drove the Soviets out in 1989 with the help of US weapons
"Sometimes there was very close combat - hand to hand," he said. "That was very difficult. You are thinking about survival."
He spoke of dust, and blood and men crying out in the darkness.
"I know of no-one who would like to live it again," he said.
After being wounded for a third time the officer remembers convalescing in a military hospital in Afghanistan.
He took a walk in the grounds and came across a stack of coffins. He asked who they were for, and was told that they were being readied for Russia's "future losses".
Inevitably, he wondered if one of the coffins might one day be his.
But of course, the Russian officer was lucky enough to survive, whereas perhaps around a million Afghans were killed in the war that his army waged with much brutality.
There were many reports of villages being laid waste, and of atrocities.
I asked the officer if he was ashamed of that.
After a long pause, he replied: "Sometimes."
Oppression
The mujahideen, with the help of American-supplied weapons, won their great victory and drove the Soviets out in 1989.
But they went on to disgrace themselves after eventually ousting the Afghan communists and seizing the capital.
Rory Stewart
To govern Afghanistan is a bit like being a Chicago ward politician in the 1920s
Rory Stewart, former diplomat
A former soldier in the communist regime, Sami Dinarkhail, told us of the day that he watched his old enemies march into Kabul.
He said some in the city had looked forward to the arrival of the fighters, but that they were soon disappointed.
He described seeing gunmen who had perhaps never driven a car before taking vehicles and crashing them, then finding another - and then crashing it too.
Along with the looting, there was the start of the fighting between warlords that would ravage the country for years to come.
And from that chaos emerged the Taleban movement.
Initially their restoration of a kind of order was widely welcomed in their heartlands, and even in Kabul.
But again there would be much disappointment.
The Taleban brought with them an austere, narrow interpretation of Islam that involved banning what they saw as corrupting distractions, like television, music, dancing and kite-flying.
There were strict regulations on dress and appearance, and women were banned from most education and employment.
And even more darkly, a young ethnic Turkman, Rahmat Wali, told the programme about the Taleban oppression of ethnic minority groups in northern Afghanistan.
He talked of how his uncle Hamid was dragged from his home, forced into a pickup truck and taken to a detention centre.
Later the family identified his body, one among many. Rahmat Wali told me that marks on his uncle's corpse showed that he had been tortured.
Holy war
And of course the Taleban attracted a dangerous friend - Osama Bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden, pictured in Afghanistan in 1998
The whereabouts of al-Qaeda's Saudi-born leader remain a mystery
He had been among the young radicals from across the Muslim world who had been drawn to and inspired by the Afghan holy war against the Soviets.
Now the likes of Bin Laden were ready to focus on that other superpower, the United States.
We talked to the former CIA man Michael Scheuer, who headed the unit set up by the agency to track the al-Qaeda leader as he moved across Afghanistan.
Mr Scheuer told me of his deep frustration at the Clinton administration's passing up of what he believes was an extraordinary opportunity to kill Bin Laden in the governor's palace in Kandahar one night late in 1998.
And after studying his target very closely for years, Mr Scheuer drew conclusions about Bin Laden's motives that you might not necessarily expect from a CIA man.
"The war that America is fighting now has nothing to do with what any American political leader has been willing to tell the Americans," he said.
"We're fighting people who believe that our foreign policy is an assault on their religion and on the people who believe in that religion. You don't have to agree with that, but you have to be an adult in the sense of understanding what motivates your enemy if you hope to defeat him."
Strategy
Among our interviewees there was much criticism of the strategy that the West has pursued on all fronts in the aftermath of the ousting of the Taleban.
It was argued that far too little in the way of troops and resources were thrown into the project, and that the Americans too quickly moved on to the Iraq war - imagining that their work was largely done in Afghanistan.
There was criticism too of the West's collaboration with the former warlords who have done so much damage to Afghanistan in the past.
But the former British diplomat Rory Stewart, who now lives and works in Kabul, took a slightly different line.
"To govern Afghanistan is a bit like being a Chicago ward politician in the 1920s," he said.
"It involves being very good in understanding power, understanding who has power in a local area, and an understanding that if you are going to remove them you have got to think very carefully about who you are going to replace them with."
Mr Stewart said that the aim in the long run must be to phase out the warlords. But, he said: "You're not going to get to the long run unless you make some compromises and are prepared to work with people who you might not like to have dinner with."
Spies, soldiers, diplomats and ordinary people who have lived through Afghanistan's decades of turmoil speak to Alan Johnston, the BBC's former Kabul correspondent.
Shabibi Shah in the 1960s
Shabibi Shah (l) in Afghanistan during the 1960s
The old woman was gazing out of the glass doors into her small, neat, English garden. But as she talked, she was reliving a moment from her traumatic Afghan past.
"He was beaten," she said. "He lost his four front teeth."
Shabibi Shah was remembering her husband Zafar's emergence from prison. He had been jailed by the Afghan communists, who were then in power.
"He wasn't himself. We had to admit him to a hospital - a mental hospital.
"He went crazy for a while, until he got better - and then they put him in prison for other reasons. They were just trying to destroy people who were against them."
Eventually the family fled in 1980. Mrs Shah endured some of the hardest days of her life as she walked through the mountains with her children to the safety of Pakistan, before eventually settling in Britain.
I had asked her to tell me her story in the course of making a radio documentary - a history of modern Afghanistan.
Our project involved raking through three decades' worth of the BBC's archives. We contacted Afghans in Kabul and elsewhere, and spoke to soldiers and diplomats and former spies - Russian, American, British and Pakistani.
Upheaval
I was repeatedly and powerfully reminded of the sheer extent of the suffering that the many years of war and political upheaval have inflicted on the Afghan people.
Like Mrs Shah, almost every Afghan has an extraordinary story.
Abdul Baseer was just a teenager at the start of the communist era.
He told us how he was picked up on the street and flown by helicopter to a remote outpost in the mountains.
He was meant to be turned immediately into a soldier and put on the frontline in the regime's fight against the mujahideen guerrillas.
"They had mined the whole area around the garrison so you couldn't escape," said Mr Baseer.
"People were obviously thinking about how to get out of that place rather than enthusiastically thinking about being part of that wonderful army."
Brutality
One Russian officer, Oleg Kulakov, knew all about the brutal realities of life on Afghan battlefields.
He told the programme of the ambushes, and the fear and frenzy of mujahideen assaults in the night.
Mujahideen soldiers celebrate victory
The mujahideen drove the Soviets out in 1989 with the help of US weapons
"Sometimes there was very close combat - hand to hand," he said. "That was very difficult. You are thinking about survival."
He spoke of dust, and blood and men crying out in the darkness.
"I know of no-one who would like to live it again," he said.
After being wounded for a third time the officer remembers convalescing in a military hospital in Afghanistan.
He took a walk in the grounds and came across a stack of coffins. He asked who they were for, and was told that they were being readied for Russia's "future losses".
Inevitably, he wondered if one of the coffins might one day be his.
But of course, the Russian officer was lucky enough to survive, whereas perhaps around a million Afghans were killed in the war that his army waged with much brutality.
There were many reports of villages being laid waste, and of atrocities.
I asked the officer if he was ashamed of that.
After a long pause, he replied: "Sometimes."
Oppression
The mujahideen, with the help of American-supplied weapons, won their great victory and drove the Soviets out in 1989.
But they went on to disgrace themselves after eventually ousting the Afghan communists and seizing the capital.
Rory Stewart
To govern Afghanistan is a bit like being a Chicago ward politician in the 1920s
Rory Stewart, former diplomat
A former soldier in the communist regime, Sami Dinarkhail, told us of the day that he watched his old enemies march into Kabul.
He said some in the city had looked forward to the arrival of the fighters, but that they were soon disappointed.
He described seeing gunmen who had perhaps never driven a car before taking vehicles and crashing them, then finding another - and then crashing it too.
Along with the looting, there was the start of the fighting between warlords that would ravage the country for years to come.
And from that chaos emerged the Taleban movement.
Initially their restoration of a kind of order was widely welcomed in their heartlands, and even in Kabul.
But again there would be much disappointment.
The Taleban brought with them an austere, narrow interpretation of Islam that involved banning what they saw as corrupting distractions, like television, music, dancing and kite-flying.
There were strict regulations on dress and appearance, and women were banned from most education and employment.
And even more darkly, a young ethnic Turkman, Rahmat Wali, told the programme about the Taleban oppression of ethnic minority groups in northern Afghanistan.
He talked of how his uncle Hamid was dragged from his home, forced into a pickup truck and taken to a detention centre.
Later the family identified his body, one among many. Rahmat Wali told me that marks on his uncle's corpse showed that he had been tortured.
Holy war
And of course the Taleban attracted a dangerous friend - Osama Bin Laden.
Osama bin Laden, pictured in Afghanistan in 1998
The whereabouts of al-Qaeda's Saudi-born leader remain a mystery
He had been among the young radicals from across the Muslim world who had been drawn to and inspired by the Afghan holy war against the Soviets.
Now the likes of Bin Laden were ready to focus on that other superpower, the United States.
We talked to the former CIA man Michael Scheuer, who headed the unit set up by the agency to track the al-Qaeda leader as he moved across Afghanistan.
Mr Scheuer told me of his deep frustration at the Clinton administration's passing up of what he believes was an extraordinary opportunity to kill Bin Laden in the governor's palace in Kandahar one night late in 1998.
And after studying his target very closely for years, Mr Scheuer drew conclusions about Bin Laden's motives that you might not necessarily expect from a CIA man.
"The war that America is fighting now has nothing to do with what any American political leader has been willing to tell the Americans," he said.
"We're fighting people who believe that our foreign policy is an assault on their religion and on the people who believe in that religion. You don't have to agree with that, but you have to be an adult in the sense of understanding what motivates your enemy if you hope to defeat him."
Strategy
Among our interviewees there was much criticism of the strategy that the West has pursued on all fronts in the aftermath of the ousting of the Taleban.
It was argued that far too little in the way of troops and resources were thrown into the project, and that the Americans too quickly moved on to the Iraq war - imagining that their work was largely done in Afghanistan.
There was criticism too of the West's collaboration with the former warlords who have done so much damage to Afghanistan in the past.
But the former British diplomat Rory Stewart, who now lives and works in Kabul, took a slightly different line.
"To govern Afghanistan is a bit like being a Chicago ward politician in the 1920s," he said.
"It involves being very good in understanding power, understanding who has power in a local area, and an understanding that if you are going to remove them you have got to think very carefully about who you are going to replace them with."
Mr Stewart said that the aim in the long run must be to phase out the warlords. But, he said: "You're not going to get to the long run unless you make some compromises and are prepared to work with people who you might not like to have dinner with."
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