The Euphrates breathes myth like few rivers on Earth. Consider that it rises in the Armenian highlands, not from canebrakes and undergrowth, but midst orchards of pistachio and plum. Somewhere on such a watershed must lie the garden of epic human beginnings, of the glories and defeats of human struggle. Imagine for a moment that […]
Afghanistan
Mother of All Road Trips (XII): Hiccup in No-Man’s-Land*
Mother of All Road Trips (XII): Hiccup in No-Man’s-Land*
Having left the Silk Road city walls of Herat (Afghanistan) in our dust we trailed west toward the frontier with Iran coming to the Afghan border post at Islam Qala. There we cleared exit formalities with authorities who regarded with side-eye our saucy-red VW sedan, its makeshift rooftop carrier accommodating three additional passengers and a […]
Northern Afghanistan: Warlord Embraces in Silk Road Country*
Northern Afghanistan: Warlord Embraces in Silk Road Country*
Travels in epic Silk Road country come with hazards even in the best of times. Dan Terry, a life-long friend and humanitarian, hopelessly besotted by the beauty of Central Asia, moved with his family to northern Afghanistan during civil war: wild country, wild times. Crossing Balkh province solo one day, his jeep marked by a […]