Taran Khan

Winner of the Tata Literature Live First Book Award for Non-Fiction 2020 'A fabulous piece of writing... I recommend it unreservedly' William Dalrymple 'A brilliant book' Christina Lamb One of the first things I was told when I arrived in Kabul was never to walk... When journalist Taran Khan arrives in Kabul, she uncovers a place that defies her expectations. Her wanderings with other Kabulis reveal a fragile city in a state of flux: stricken by near-constant war, but flickering with the promise of peace; governed by age-old codes but experimenting with new modes of living. Her walks take her to the unvisited tombs of the dead, and to the land of the living - like the booksellers, archaeologists, film-makers and entrepreneurs who are remaking this 3,000-year-old city. And as NATO troops begin to withdraw from the country, Khan watches the cycle of transformation begin again. 'A wonderful journey' Atiq Rahimi 'Khan illuminates [Kabul's] life-affirming humanity' TLS

A Woman Walks Kabul

Shadow City

Isabel 

...maps of moving images, leading to a city that was and never was. 

"Because this.... all this was Afghanistan also.  ... Because the Buddha was ours also."

You turn round, and the road to home has disappeared.

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