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  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS64.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS63.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS59.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS58.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS44.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS40.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS37.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS33.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS32.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS23.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS21.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS19.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS10.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS11.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS06.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS04.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS65.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS62.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS60.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS54.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS53.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS55.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS52.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS51.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS50.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS48.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS45.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS47.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS46.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS42.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS43.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS41.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS39.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS38.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS36.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS35.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS34.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS31.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS28.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS30.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS29.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS27.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS26.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS25.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS24.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS22.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS20.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS18.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS17.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS16.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS15.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS14.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS13.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS12.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS09.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS08.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS07.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS05.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS01.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS02.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS03.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS61.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS57.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS56.jpg
  • AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TALIBANS<br />
<br />
There is a region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Wedged between Tajikistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Pamir is an area of precarious peace.<br />
Promoted by the Afghan government to try and attract tourists in search of adventure, it is also the gateway to the Wakhan Corridor that Marco Polo used in the 13th century and it is where the legendary nomads have lived isolated from the rest of the world at an altitude of 4,500 meters, with the only company of their yaks.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, the border can only be crossed from Tajikistan. The Panj river separates the two states. It is 2pm and loud honking is necessary to draw the attention of the Afghan border guards busy playing volleyball.<br />
In the entrance of the border post, there is a portrait of Salah Abdeslam, the terrorist involved in the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015. The border guard mimes cuffed hands to convey to me that he was captured. Next to him, a poster displays all the presidents of Afghanistan. I recognize the current one, Ashraf Ghani, as well as his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, and on a blurry black and white picture reminiscent of a « Wanted dead or alive» poster, Mullah Omar!<br />
<br />
My passport is scanned and then mailed to Kabul to be checked against the database. “Security," the border guard tells me. But the Internet connection is down. “We’ll check on your way back,” he says, annoyed, before handing me my visa number 339.<br />
<br />
A few kilometers and potholes later, I arrive in Ishkashim, the largest village in the region, which boils down to two dusty roads lined with stalls. A Toyota pickup truck full of armed soldiers patrols at high speed. I see my first pakols, the famous hat immortalized by General Massoud, and surprise, women walking while all wearing blue burqas.<br />
The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but the market is controlled by con
    ExPix_AFGHANISTAN_WITHOUT_TALIBANS49.jpg
  • Landmines afghanistan<br />
Exclusive Text and photos: Ton Koene/Exclusivepix Media<br />
<br />
Afghanistan is one big minefield. An estimated 10 million mines are spread over the country. Grazing lands, waterways, schools, paths, villages and cities are infested with mainly Anti-personal mines.  Landmines were predominantly placed during the civil war in the nineties when Russia fought the Mujehadien freedom fighters. Mine clearance teams in Afghanistan report finding literally dozens of types of landmines, mainly from the ex-USSR, but also from Belgium, Italy, US and the UK. The most infamous mine used during the Soviet Union's occupation period was the so-called 'butterfly' mine. Helicopter crews dropped untold numbers (figures range into the millions) of the small mines from the air. They were designed to flutter to the ground without exploding, and to thousands of children they resembled butterflys or toys. Several demining organisations are working in various places inside Afghanistan but demining is a very slow process. It takes weeks to clear a small piece of land as deminers go inch by inch. Despite the international efforts to demine parts of Afghanistan, it will take another few hundred years to make Afghanistan mine free, at the speed it is going right now. Every day, dozens of civilians across Afghanistan, often children step on landmines and loose limbs or even die. In Afghanistan, accurate and exhaustive figures of the disabled population are not available. Those with mobility impairments could be around one million, of whom approximately 50,000 to 100,000 are limb amputees and their number is constantly increasing. ICRC is the main organization dealing with these victims. Not only providing emergency assistance to mine victims in hospitals, but also to support these victims during recovery in the ICRC physical rehabilitation center in Kabul. Here victims receive prostheses and extensive physical rehabilitation. After months of rehab, most of them are able to find the
    Exclusivepix_Landmines_afghanistan6.jpg
  • Puckering up to hyenas, cuddling pythons and caressing camels... these images show just how crazy the world is about animals<br />
<br />
An intrepid photographer has scoured the planet snapping people and their pets.<br />
French photographer Eric Lafforgue, travelled everywhere from Easter Island to North Korea to capture on camera mankind's love for animals.<br />
Taken over a period of ten years, each picture gives the viewer a glimpse into the types of pets people choose to own and the relationships they forge with them.<br />
<br />
<br />
Eric Lafforgue spent a decade, from 2005 to 2015, taking photographs of people communing with animals  He ventured as far afield as Ethiopia, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Panama, North Korea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan <br />
Among the most astonishing photographs is a man holding meat in his mouth and feeding a hyena  The Frenchman said: 'It is a great lesson of life, you need to take care of the animal to survive'<br />
<br />
Photo shows: Wakhi teenage boy riding a yak, Big pamir, Wakhan, Afghanistan
    ExPix_How_crazy_the_world_is_about_a...jpg
  • March 17, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A hill of life jackets on Lesbos<br />
<br />
Thousands of life jackets from refugees and migrants form a small hill on the island of Lesbos, Greece on March 17, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_hill_of_life_jackets_Le...jpg
  • March 17, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A hill of life jackets on Lesbos<br />
<br />
Thousands of life jackets from refugees and migrants form a small hill on the island of Lesbos, Greece on March 17, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_hill_of_life_jackets_Le...jpg
  • March 17, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A hill of life jackets on Lesbos<br />
<br />
Thousands of life jackets from refugees and migrants form a small hill on the island of Lesbos, Greece on March 17, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_hill_of_life_jackets_Le...jpg
  • March 17, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A hill of life jackets on Lesbos<br />
<br />
Thousands of life jackets from refugees and migrants form a small hill on the island of Lesbos, Greece on March 17, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_hill_of_life_jackets_Le...jpg
  • March 17, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A hill of life jackets on Lesbos<br />
<br />
Thousands of life jackets from refugees and migrants form a small hill on the island of Lesbos, Greece on March 17, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_hill_of_life_jackets_Le...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
Another day of tension to Idomeni. A hundred people, including men, women and children have blocked the passage of trains from Greece to Macedonia, clamoring for the opening of the Macedonian border. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
Another day of tension to Idomeni. A hundred people, including men, women and children have blocked the passage of trains from Greece to Macedonia, clamoring for the opening of the Macedonian border. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
Another day of tension to Idomeni. A hundred people, including men, women and children have blocked the passage of trains from Greece to Macedonia, clamoring for the opening of the Macedonian border. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
Another day of tension to Idomeni. A hundred people, including men, women and children have blocked the passage of trains from Greece to Macedonia, clamoring for the opening of the Macedonian border. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
Another day of tension to Idomeni. A hundred people, including men, women and children have blocked the passage of trains from Greece to Macedonia, clamoring for the opening of the Macedonian border. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • March 13, 2016 - Idomeni, Greece - <br />
<br />
 More than 15,000 people are still stuck on the border between Greece and Macedonia, after the decision to close the borders until you find an agreement between Europe and Turkey. In the refugee camp, there are many who speak of the possibility of passing through Albania to Italy or Kosovo, and then continue the journey to the north. Idomeni, Greece. March 13, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Appalling_Conditions_Mi...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • February 27, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
<br />
A pile of lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants who arrived to the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 27, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Life_Jackets_Left_By_Re...jpg
  • Feb. 24, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
Migrants in Mytilene, island of Lesbos, Greece, on February 24, 2016. More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organization for Migration said on February 23, 2016<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Europes_Migrant_Crisis_...jpg
  • Feb. 24, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
Motors of boats in Mytilene, island of Lesbos, Greece, on February 24, 2016. More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organization for Migration said on February 23, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Europes_Migrant_Crisis_...jpg
  • Feb. 24, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
Migrants in Mytilene, island of Lesbos, Greece, on February 24, 2016. More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organization for Migration said on February 23, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Europes_Migrant_Crisis_...jpg
  • Feb. 24, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
Migrants in Mytilene, island of Lesbos, Greece, on February 24, 2016. More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organization for Migration said on February 23, 2016. <br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Europes_Migrant_Crisis_...jpg
  • Feb. 24, 2016 - Lesbos, Greece - <br />
Refugees and migrants on a rubber boat arrive in Mytilene, island of Lesbos, Greece, on February 24, 2016. More than 110,000 migrants and refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to Greece and Italy so far this year, and 413 have lost their lives trying, the International Organization for Migration said on February 23, 2016.<br />
©Exclusivepix Media
    Exclusivepix_Europes_Migrant_Crisis_...jpg
  • Hooked into the sewers from Peshawar.<br />
<br />
Photographer Ton Koene took a week on heroin addicts in the sewers of Peshawar, a desolate town in Northern Pakistan. In the cracks of the world, between rats and cockroaches and under bridges and on garbage dumps, he met people, sometimes children, who have lost almost all hope.<br />
<br />
"Give me one good reason why I should quit. I have no future, no job and income, and will never get it again. I spray me to the grave. "So says the 11-year-old Salim Mula. Eleven years pass, petite and small, but speaking as a grown man.<br />
<br />
Salim is one of the more than 10,000 drug addicts in Peshawar, a poor northern Pakistani town with a population similar to Rotterdam. The main reason for the relatively high number of addicts in Peshawar is a lack of perspective to a job or income is hard to come by in this corner of the world. Often suffers depression to smoking hashish and the step to heroin is easily made. On every street corner to get it. As a little test I ask a young rascal to a few grams of heroin and look at my watch how long it takes. Within 40 seconds, the guy in front of me with the loot.<br />
<br />
Living in the sewers<br />
In one of the many sewers of Peshawar, I met a group of about twenty addicts. Dr. Noman a local Pakistani aid agency introduces me. The addicts greet us with a drunk alekum salam 'and stare at us with half-closed eyes. They should make every effort to focus on the visit, but also to their use: they uncoordinated stabbing a match to heat their heroin. A few meters away from them, along the asphalt, lie the graves. Luguber to see is that a hole has already been dug for the next victim. The addicts are literally using their own grave.<br />
<br />
Most addicts smoke fumes of heroin powder that they liquefy tinfoil on a piece of paper by heating it with a match. With a straw they inhale the anesthetic vapors. 'Chasing the dragon' is called in jargon users, because the liquid heroin moisture away from the tinfoil runs down. "They will be but little i
    Exclusivepix_Heroin_Addicts_of_Pesha...jpg
  • Hooked into the sewers from Peshawar.<br />
<br />
Photographer Ton Koene took a week on heroin addicts in the sewers of Peshawar, a desolate town in Northern Pakistan. In the cracks of the world, between rats and cockroaches and under bridges and on garbage dumps, he met people, sometimes children, who have lost almost all hope.<br />
<br />
"Give me one good reason why I should quit. I have no future, no job and income, and will never get it again. I spray me to the grave. "So says the 11-year-old Salim Mula. Eleven years pass, petite and small, but speaking as a grown man.<br />
<br />
Salim is one of the more than 10,000 drug addicts in Peshawar, a poor northern Pakistani town with a population similar to Rotterdam. The main reason for the relatively high number of addicts in Peshawar is a lack of perspective to a job or income is hard to come by in this corner of the world. Often suffers depression to smoking hashish and the step to heroin is easily made. On every street corner to get it. As a little test I ask a young rascal to a few grams of heroin and look at my watch how long it takes. Within 40 seconds, the guy in front of me with the loot.<br />
<br />
Living in the sewers<br />
In one of the many sewers of Peshawar, I met a group of about twenty addicts. Dr. Noman a local Pakistani aid agency introduces me. The addicts greet us with a drunk alekum salam 'and stare at us with half-closed eyes. They should make every effort to focus on the visit, but also to their use: they uncoordinated stabbing a match to heat their heroin. A few meters away from them, along the asphalt, lie the graves. Luguber to see is that a hole has already been dug for the next victim. The addicts are literally using their own grave.<br />
<br />
Most addicts smoke fumes of heroin powder that they liquefy tinfoil on a piece of paper by heating it with a match. With a straw they inhale the anesthetic vapors. 'Chasing the dragon' is called in jargon users, because the liquid heroin moisture away from the tinfoil runs down. "They will be but little i
    Exclusivepix_Heroin_Addicts_of_Pesha...JPG
  • Hooked into the sewers from Peshawar.<br />
<br />
Photographer Ton Koene took a week on heroin addicts in the sewers of Peshawar, a desolate town in Northern Pakistan. In the cracks of the world, between rats and cockroaches and under bridges and on garbage dumps, he met people, sometimes children, who have lost almost all hope.<br />
<br />
"Give me one good reason why I should quit. I have no future, no job and income, and will never get it again. I spray me to the grave. "So says the 11-year-old Salim Mula. Eleven years pass, petite and small, but speaking as a grown man.<br />
<br />
Salim is one of the more than 10,000 drug addicts in Peshawar, a poor northern Pakistani town with a population similar to Rotterdam. The main reason for the relatively high number of addicts in Peshawar is a lack of perspective to a job or income is hard to come by in this corner of the world. Often suffers depression to smoking hashish and the step to heroin is easily made. On every street corner to get it. As a little test I ask a young rascal to a few grams of heroin and look at my watch how long it takes. Within 40 seconds, the guy in front of me with the loot.<br />
<br />
Living in the sewers<br />
In one of the many sewers of Peshawar, I met a group of about twenty addicts. Dr. Noman a local Pakistani aid agency introduces me. The addicts greet us with a drunk alekum salam 'and stare at us with half-closed eyes. They should make every effort to focus on the visit, but also to their use: they uncoordinated stabbing a match to heat their heroin. A few meters away from them, along the asphalt, lie the graves. Luguber to see is that a hole has already been dug for the next victim. The addicts are literally using their own grave.<br />
<br />
Most addicts smoke fumes of heroin powder that they liquefy tinfoil on a piece of paper by heating it with a match. With a straw they inhale the anesthetic vapors. 'Chasing the dragon' is called in jargon users, because the liquid heroin moisture away from the tinfoil runs down. "They will be but little i
    Exclusivepix_Heroin_Addicts_of_Pesha...jpg
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