Barbur Gardens - Part 1

The Government of Canada recently sponsored a group of young Afghans to complete a photography course in Kabul. Canada paid for the course, living expenses and also purchased the camera equipment which the students used during the course. At the end of the course, the students submitted various photo's they had taken with the best being selected not only for a public display, but also compiled into a book which is for sale to the public. I will be posting some of the photo's in upcoming blogs, but I also wanted to share some pictures I took of the park where the public display of the student's work took place.

The exhibition took place at a public park in Kabul called Barbur Gardens. This is the burial place of the emperor Barbur who is quite famous in Afghan history. In essence I believe he was the last Afghan emporer who truly ruled the region and brought all of his people together in a single dynasty. The park was constructed as a public gathering place for Afghans to pay respect to Barbur as well as spend time together as a family.

You can see these are quite beautiful grounds which are maintained by local Afghans and supported by international donations. I took a lot of pictures as I found the park to be in "competition" wth the surrounding area. The garden itself is in the middle of Kabul and enclosed by a solid wall. You can see how the houses on the hill come right up to the walls and you can actually hear people on the outside going about their daily routine. Keep in mind these houses have no water, sewer, electricity, garbage collection, etc. Everything is carried up by hand and of course flows downhill.

The park was virtually destroyed during the wars and has taken awhile to build back up. There is an admission to enter the park and you have to check your guns in at the door. It was quite odd for me to hand in my gun and receive a tag much like you would with a coat check back home. We also had to go through security at the gate where everyone is searched to ensure no weapons or bombs are being brought in. It really tears at your heart to see little kids, 8 and 10 year olds being searched...and they think nothing of it.

There were quite a few local families enjoying the sunshine and having a picnic lunch. As soon as they see the camera, the woman and girls all turn away so out of respect I try to avoid them all together. It was interesting to see the families relaxed and enjoying the peace and quite the park offered. Kids were playing, running around chasing each other, while their parents watched over them and prepared the picnic lunch.