Afghanistan . Afghanistan Behind the Taliban Curtain II By Damian Bird Afghan ‘six-seater’ taxi, Kabul. Afghan children enjoying a game of ‘sardines’ in an old tree, Kandahar. I was invited to a picnic by a Warlord. I accepted and enjoyed some of the freshest meat I have ever tasted. Perhaps a little too fresh! Subsistence bread sales on the streets of Kandahar. Afghan bread is the most delicious I have ever tasted in my life. These men are drinking whiskey and coke. They are hiding in this bush because the drinking of alcohol is against their religion and therefore must be done secretly to prevent a public out cry. They were enjoying their freedom, a luxury they would not have dared to engage in under the Taliban. Cattle market. Mazar-i-Sharif. Resting, Kabul. Bread being bought to acompany supper, Kandahar. Picnic with a Warlord. After driving out into the sheep grazing areas outside Mazar-i-Sharif, the Warlord’s men caught a few sheep, cut their throats, butchered them, created BBQs by cutting holes in the ground and filling them with firewood, then started to cook up a feast. The skinning of lunch. Burqas in the wind, Kabul. A proud vegetable grower, Kandahar. Children collecting bread for supper, Kabul. The dusty streets of Kabul. Photo taken through the window of a car because I didn’t want to miss it. Cobbler standing to attention out of humour and friendliness. In the background there are ruined buildings from the Sovietera of unrest in Afghanistan. Early morning, Kabul. The place to go to get a reconditioned engine in Kabul. The terrain in Afghanistan is so bad that most cars are finished after about 35,000 miles, leaving the engines fairly low milage without a car to power.  An early morning street conversation in Kabul. The pleasures of eating freshly caught meat in the great out doors! The transportation of moulded plastic goods on the streets of Kabul. Radish seller, Kabul. When transportation is available in Afghanistan and you need to get somewhere you don’t get picky!