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Journey to Afghanistan - Chapter 6, page 16

An Ancient Occupation

While traveling back from a village east of Mazar-i-Sharif I interrupted our rollicking music to tell the driver, John Mohammed, that if the occasion presented itself, I hoped to get some pictures of a flock of sheep and their shepherds. That day we had seen several small herds of both goats and sheep, but none close to the highway. Mohammed promptly slowed then left the paved road, driving down the embankment and out into the desert toward the northwest. My immediate thought was, "What about land mines?" I was relived to see the tracks of a single vehicle crossing the sand ahead of us. Nothing but dunes could be seen on the distant horizon. The tracks continued on, happily uninterrupted by any crater in the ground, until we could faintly make out the distant silhouette of a building rising out of the sand. It slowly took on the form of a small house with a domed roof and an adobe fence attached to the west side.

Two immense dogs came bounding toward our approaching van and three figures appeared from behind the hut. The dogs were barking and snarling. Before opening our car doors it seemed prudent to wait until their shepherd masters had grasped them by the collars and leashed them to a post. John Mohammed called greetings to these men and then to three others standing near a large band of sheep behind the corral area. He informed us that the shepherds and sheep were from his own village.

Their conversation was animated. We Americans intermittently asked questions and when I requested to take their picture, several of them quickly lined up in front of their band of sheep. Their clothing was extremely varied. Four had fabric wrapped around their heads, some extending it to their neck and shoulders, and one had a small close fitting cap. Most had mustaches and beards, but the youngest made up for his smooth face with a fur buzkashi hat. Several had an outer sweater or coat and under it the typical long shirt and baggy trousers. Footwear was entirely of sandals or slipper-like rubbers. No bright colors were evident, but rather the blues and greys and browns had been tinted with the desert sands, adobe, and time.

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