thank you, new york times

do not delay in checking out the new york times' wonderful article and stunning archival photo essay on afghanistan between the 1930s and 1970s, when the country was considered "the paris of central asia."

v. sad to think that most of the afghans i know here weren't even alive for this . . .

a friend, bahar jalali, is soon to be coming out with a book (uc press, 2010) based on her dissertation that will further help us to understand how much afghanistan has changed in the past 35-odd years. her work centers on the period of 1963-1973. bahar's mom was married in the early 70s, in afghanistan, in a miniskirt. a far cry from afghan weddings these days . . .