PLAYING VOLLEY BALL WITH THE TALIBAN11 min read

THE AFGHAN SERIES, DAY 9&10

MAZAR – BALKH – MAZAR

Playing volley ball with the Taliban. Initially, I didn’t expect half the number of Taliban bases and compounds that there are; however, they have taken control of every public building and compound that the old government created.

PLAYING VOLLEY WITH THE TALIBAN HAS TO BE UP THEIR WITH THE WORLD’S HIGHEST BUNGEE AND GETTING DRUNK WITH THE MAASAI TRIBE

This brings a few problems as some attractions on my itinerary are no longer possible. Consequently, the Taliban do not allow anyone into these areas, and they make no exceptions, which is a shame as it meant losing out on today’s first spot, Qala-I-Jangi.

WHERE IS BALKH?

Balkh

QALA-I-JANGI 

Qala-I-Jangi (pron “Kala Jangi”) has an interesting story; it was the site of the first main battle of the U.S. war, where the Taliban killed the first American. I won’t go into the detail (still gutted I couldn’t get in) but the U.S. military used it as a prison and housed around 400 Taliban prisoners for two CIA members to question, unfortunately some of the Taliban had hidden weapons and took over the prison killing Johnny Spann instantly. David Tyson would go on to escape but not before an army unit called in an airstrike but instead of giving the coordinates of the enemy he gave the coordinates of themselves. The entire event turned into a shitshow, and the U.S. forces killed almost 400 people, the majority of whom were Taliban.

BALKH

From here, we moved to the nearby town of Balkh, where, for the first time, I noticed women wearing the full veil. People were nice and they soon formed a circle of curiosity around me. I would like to think they were keen to hear what I had to say but somehow I doubt.

Naturally, within minutes, we were asked to move on by the Taliban. The Taliban view groups of people as a high risk here since suicide bombers could target them, which seems like a fair request.

Playing volley ball with the Taliban

BABA KOO SHRINE

We made the short drive out to the old city of Balkh and to a small shrine. Historically, locals believe this place is the birthplace of Hashish, the brown resin form of marijuana. Locals would come here, sit with friends, fire up a joint or two, and chill. However when the Taliban came to power the Taliban destroyed the small buildings.

They are creating a small well here (not sure why no one lives in the area), and the operator was one of the nicest Afghans I have met. After chatting and burning his ear about his bore machine he gave me his prayer beads, this is said to bring luck and fortune and something I didn’t expect.

Playing volley ball with the Taliban

WHERE IS MAZAR?

Mazar

No trip to Mazar-I-Sharif is complete without checking out it’s Blue Mosque, especially at sunset where you can sit down chill out and enjoy the many shades of blues that glint from its tiles. Afghanistan is strict yet inconsistent when it comes to its mosques and does not allow non-Muslims inside. The few times we were at the blue mosque the authorities turned women away from even getting into the grounds.

Playing volley ball with the Taliban

DAY 10

Unfortunately we have had to stay in Mazar another day due to the flight schedule going back to Kabul (yes I wasn’t going to make that trip for a second time!). This means although another day here I will have to sacrifice a day later on in the trip…not going to be easy working out which day will take the hit!

Playing volley ball with the Taliban

MARKET WALK

After a quick trip back to the mosque for sunrise we headed around the bazaar of Mazar and pretty much filled our boots with food and drink. It was probably the Cherry drink that surprised me the most as I don’t rate it far behind durian.

After some more ice cream (its better in Bamiyan) I visited a random bread shop and probably met some of the hardest working men in the city. The heat in there weas incredible but yet they still manage to make around 1,000 rounds of bread. The local who runs its was incredibly friendly, passionate and more than happy to have me in his shop showing me the operations. The friendliness and openness of these people blows my mind.

TODAY’S YOUTUBE VIDEOS

If you want to see today from a different perspective, and catch a few different stories from the front row, then check out today’s YouTube videos below.

FINAL THOUGHTS

How many times in your life are you going to get the chance to play volleyball with the Taliban? I found it incredible and the offer very genuine. It wasn’t like we were joining a game already in play but we were the only reason they were going to play and to eventually be involved in a game of Volleyball and Chai with around 20 people really made me think a lot about these people.

NEXT UP

My worst dose of food poisoning and a trip to Jalalabad!! Click to read.

SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
159/229

This post was part of The Afghan Series, for the entire series click here or for episode 1, click here.

To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.