AFGHANISTAN and Her Neighbors Photo Gallery by Matt Reichel at pbase.com

AFGHANISTAN and Her Neighbors

A four month photo-journalistic trip travelling from Southeast Asia, through South Asia to the Silk Road: Philippines, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Chinese East Turkistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, the UAE, and Sri Lanka

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALL

Persian Face, Persepolis, Iran	Tomato Salesman, Colombo, Sri Lanka	The Chocolate Hills, Bohol Island, Philippines	Inside a Wakhi House, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan
Bengali Elder, Dhaka, Bangladesh	The Karakoram's Beauty, Northern Areas, Pakistan	Balti Hearder, Baltistan, Pakistan	Wakhi Farmers at Home, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan
On the Rocks, Baltistan, Pakistan	Shrouded by Clouds, Bumthang, Bhutan	Wakhi Elder, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan	Sheep Slaughter, Baltistan, Pakistan
The Sand City, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India	Squat, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan	Mellons for Sale, Ishkashem, Afghanistan	Milking Dzyu, Baltistan, Pakistan
Watching the Sheep, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan	Imam's Mosque, Isfahan, Iran	Buddha Smile, Baltistan, Pakistan	Life by the Sundarbans, Khulna District, Bangladesh
A Long Smoke, Peshawar, Pakistan	Yarn, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan	Petroglyphs, The Pamirs, Tajikistan	Grandfather and his three Grandchildren, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan

pages 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALL

comment |

M Ayub Khan		04-Feb-2013 04:18
Hi Matt, Your photographs about Afghanistan and neighbors countries are excellent . Really done a great job.

Adnan Masood		12-Aug-2011 15:16
Hi Matt, A great presentation of South Asia, well done & well exposed. V!

Guest		15-Dec-2010 08:27
i would to take pictures their...

Matt Reichel		05-Aug-2010 07:29
(below) reply in your email inbox. (two down) si, hay unas que de veras tienen caras tristezas, pero las mayores que he encontrado no necesariamente tienen solo caras tristes. existe una pletora de emociones y sentimentos, incluyendo las mujeres. las culturas en el asia central no son muy simples, son tento complicado, ademas soy hombre, no tengo muchas oportunidades conocer a las mujeres en el mundo islamico.

c. bosman		02-Aug-2010 10:02
Dear Matt, thanks for posting all those beautiful pictures on the web. I've been living in Wakhan since 2006 and think these are great pics, from great people. I'm doing some presentations for friends/family, about the Wakhan. Would I be allowed to use a few of your pictures in these presentations? By the way, the picture of the 'new baby, Panja, Afghanistan' is probably not a new baby, but a 6 month old baby. When a baby is born, it's weight is generally around 2 kg, or less, something that already indicates the bad situation people are living in, without good foods to live on. Keep up the good work and thansk again for sharing the pics on the web! Christel Bosman, medical doctor with IAM, Kipkut, Wakhan, Afgh. (at the moment still out of the country, hopefully back in a few months)

Marcia		27-Jun-2010 19:37
Las pocas mujeres que ves, tienen la cara triste y la mirada cautelosa.

christel		28-May-2010 11:23
Hi Matt, I just found out about this website. I've been living and working in Wakhan since 2006, with a team, and, even though I've made many pictures, I must say that your pictures are excellent and beautiful. One remark: the picture before the last one (page 8) says 'new baby, Panja'. Since children are born around 2 kg, I think this child is probably already around 6 months of age, and not a newborn anymore. If you would be around again: our team is in Kipkut, upper part of Wakhan. Thanks for this website and for making Wakhja

Danny Cambr�		18-Dec-2009 19:03
Beautiful and very powerful gallery

Matt Reichel		16-Apr-2009 15:35
I would also like to add that some of the people photographed are the wealthiest people in their communities, some are the poorest, but the majority is representative of average (or better), in these countries the wealth gap is huge, and for the most part the presence of a truly distinct "middle class" is missing

Matt Reichel		16-Apr-2009 15:31
These photos are not of poverty, what they represent are the faces and places of the countries I traveled and also reflect the budget I was traveling on. These photos are not meant to express anything but artistic creativity and personal emotion of the people. As for photographing the buildings of Dubai - that I am not interested in - I spent my time at Wild Wadi to enjoy my last 3 days of a four month overland trip. The photos in here are a daily reflection of what I saw and what I did, they are NOT based on any overlying theme. I photograph what I find fascinating and beautiful, that is all

guest		14-Apr-2009 18:32
Mr. Reichel, While I must commend you on your beautiful photography, I have noticed a very definite trend in the subject nature of your photographs. You seem to only find poverty, and destitution worthy of being photographed. While I am not finding any fault with your choice of subject (as it is your choice to make) I wonder why you shy away from the other aspect of human life (that being bounty and prosperity) For example: this album promised some photos of the UAE and I assumed you had travelled through Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but there are no pictures of those cities or their great architectual achievments which are very noteworthy. I guess to sum this up I leave you with this question. Why do you favor this subject matter almost exclusively?

Dr Israr Hussain		02-Apr-2009 12:23
Baltistan is heaven on earth specially Thalle valley

Matt Reichel		13-Feb-2009 02:07
differences in opinion I guess. I never found Baltistan to be backwards, the place is incredibly beautiful, but what makes Baltistan special are her people, thats what I wanted to show.

shuja		12-Feb-2009 17:15
Awae some pics........... But there are plenty of scenic beauty in Baltistan , why you choosed the pics that show the poverty and backwardness of the area ,...... Try to highlight the positive aspects....... (I hail from baltistan) Shuja

nomada		04-Jan-2009 01:09
Fabulous gallery Matt!!! Happy 2009!

Bakhtyar Ali Khan		02-Nov-2008 06:25
I will Pray to all The Wakhi peoples to developing his Wakhi Culture and try heard to achive his aim & goal in future this web is a Great way to Convey his message any where and introduce our wakhi Culture & his heard work on the Great Wakhi website (All the world peoples know that the wakhi peoples are heard worker & peicfull & lived togather Unity) They were not Concerend the Politics & partcipating in any party) I request to all the worlds peoples to pray and donait to strong our base and developind this. :"I also pray all the Wakhies Bright Futur"" ''''(INSHALLAH)"" ""( AMIN)"" From Bakhtyar Ali Khan Wakhani

Guest		02-Nov-2008 00:58
Great pic's! My wife and I took a trip like this in 1977 and I have many photos but yours just blew me away. Dan

Guest		15-Sep-2008 05:56
Legendary! That must have been an real adventure and an eye opening experience too boot.

Guest		06-Sep-2008 16:43
Matt, these are incredible! Welcome back. Parker, Ava, Lisa & David

anuschka		05-Sep-2008 15:00
Thanks for sharing! V.

Guest		04-Sep-2008 03:27
Superb and really enjoyable gallery. So many great shots. Voted.

Guest		03-Sep-2008 12:58
Great gallery showing us culture of this part of Asia. Thanks foe sharing!V

The Simon Family		03-Sep-2008 03:08
Matt Once again you've outdone yourself........the new pictures are spectacular!!!!!!! Welcome Home Have a great year

Matt Reichel		02-Sep-2008 19:29
India is known locally as Hindustan. stan in general is farsi for land.. so land of the whoever. turkestan meaning land of the turkic peoples (kazakh, uzbek, uyghur, kyrgyz, turkmen). tajiks are persian speakers, afghans either tajik dari speakers or pashto, and pakistan a created name from the early fifties for a "pure" state of muslim "indians". afghan turkistan dosnt work, as the vast majority of afghans are not a turkic people. central asia is a big mess of a map due to soviet planing.. mans stans have huge chunks of what should ethnically be other stan's territory...

Guest		02-Sep-2008 19:19
Then by your own logic, you should have figured Afghan Turkestan and Russian Turkestan are the best English names to describe the neighboring region where you however meticulously named Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, etc. Also I wonder if a similar -'stan construction on India resulted in Pakistan in history. Or do you prefer to hear we call California "provincia mexicana"? ;)

Matt Reichel		02-Sep-2008 14:35
normally id just call it Xinjiang (Mandarin for new frontier) as that's what it is now and when i was there. the region (along with the majority of kazakhstan) was referred to as turkistan during silk road times, Xinjiang as east turkistan as, well, thats where is is geographically. I figured Chinese East Turkistan is the best English name to describe the region.

Guest		02-Sep-2008 13:12
One question: Is it historically factual that there was a concept called "Chinese East Turkistan" back in the Silk Road time? This is not in any way to question your political motivation, or your world view. Hope no offense taken.

click on thumbnails for full image

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment

Type your message and click Add Comment

It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest. Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help	private comment