DAY 75 - GIRISHK

75) SATURDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 1977 : 451KMS. - GIRISHK

We left HERAT about 11:00 am along the Asian Highway through  AZIZABAD .  On both sides of the road was desert  and no sight of any tree, except  grass bushes looking like dry thorns .  On some parts there were rock mountains. We passed DELARAM,  an Oasis . Not far from the city area, we saw  tents of Nomads  and their camels grazing in the distance.

Desert oasis - Photo : panoramio.com / Bing images search

From DELARAM to GIRISHK, it is desert area  and  it was very windy  but not very hot. On the right side of the road from DILARAM to GIRISHK, it is an unexplored desert  as stated in ESCAP 's Asian Highway Map 1975.

Desert - Photo : Bing images search

We did not see any tree nor house and people along the way. It seemed that we were driving alone on the road, once in a while there was a car coming from the opposite  direction on the other side of the road.

 

Deserted desert - Photo : inpattayanow.com / Bing images search

The road was almost deserted.  It was nearly sunsetting time before arriving GIRISHK that the atmosphere  made me feel  unreasonably homesick .

 

Sunsetting in the desert - Photo - Karl Bunyan / Bing images search

We arrived GIRISHK in the evening. It seemed to be a large oasis in the desert.  There is a  river running through it.   

Photo : Jetson Nguyen (thephotoforum.com) / Bing images search

Here again, we had made friends with an Afghan, earning his living by dyeing fabric and yarn for carpet woven in the bazaar, at a restaurant .  With his kind hospitality, he invited us to stay in his home(again), which was  a simple built house of mud mixed with hay as construction materials.

DAY 74 - HERAT

74) FRIDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - HERAT

We spent an  easy  and  restful  day in HERAT, doing nothing.

HERAT street scene - Photo : Robert Lankenau / Bing images search

Covered market - Photo : Bing images search

DAY 73 - HERAT

73) THURSDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 1977 : 0KMS. - HERAT

Went to check  mail at the post office in the morning but there was nothing.  I took time to note down my travel diary and write letters and some postcards. 

Shops in HERAT - Photo : Bing images search

 

Photo : Tilo Grabowski

In the afternoon, we went to buy  fabric for my  Afghan suit like Tilo’s. I chose dusky pink color and had it made. It costed me  320. – AFG.

DAY 72 - HERAT

72) WEDNESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 1977: 0KMS. - HERAT

Went to check mails at the Poste Restante but there was only a letter from  BEK, a health insurance company  in Germany.  When I was sick (before our journey took place about 2 months) and got my left lung operation while in Germany,   all expenses were paid by this insurance company .   

HERAT Citadel

Then we went to have a look around the city and the market. It was quite interesting . People seemed very friendly with foreigners , some look like me (Asian look). It is interesting to know that Afghanistan  has borders with China and Russia in the PAMIR region.  The Mongols  are also inhabitants  in the north-east .  From history, this territory had been conquered by Genghis Khan and  fell under Mongol occupation up to 100 years (AD 1220-1332 ) .
Most people thought  that I was Japanese but I told them back that I was an Afghan, if the person  asking me looked very similar to me.

Carpet vendor in HERAT - Photo : Tilo Grabowski

HERAT has the  atmosphere  of  authentic East.  There were less cars compared with other cities but the use of horse carriages were evident.  They were beautiful  decorated .  We also saw people riding on donkeys’ backs.   Most people wear  native costumes,  women  were covered  by  chadors from head to foot.  They are not allowed  anyone  to  see their faces  but  they can look through perforated pattern at the eyes-level.  Some chadors were beautiful plaiting at the head area and pleated at  the back.  They were in different colors, mostly in light blue .  Traditionally and popular color of chador is in dark shade or black and not flashy.  The fabric used for chador look like expensive  silk.

Afghanis women in chador - Photo : Bing images search

As for men’s attire,  they wear baggy Afghani pants and long sleeved Afghani shirts,  leaving  them outside the pants .   They  also have turbans and vests or coats.  Then in September, the temperature as from the morning and afternoon to evening  as well as at night time was windy and cold.  We saw men wearing  a series of color,  such as green and  purple colors , etc.  We would love to be assimilated with local Afghans and enjoyed this idea, so Tilo had one set of Afghani pants and shirt made in dark emerald green,  he paid 400.-  AFG but they were not well made. There is also a bowler, embroidered with flashing sequins for wearing  under turban (some pieces resemble silk loincloth). Some men wear a vest  over a long sleeved shirt  that make good compatibility.

Afghan men - Photo : nytimes.com / Bing images search