David Trilling is a journalist and photographer who has covered the southern republics of the former Soviet Union since the late 1990s and spent two years working and photographing in Afghanistan. He is currently the Central Asia Coordinator for EurasiaNet.org.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- Its snow-capped peaks, crystal-clear
lakes and pristine landscapes could put Tajikistan on par with pastoral
hot spots in New Zealand or Switzerland. However, lingering Soviet-era paranoia and a dizzying array of as many as 11
permits required for travelers wishing to visit, set against a backdrop
of a public infrastructure that could only kindly be called crumbling,
make it unlikely that this Central Asian nation will be vying for the
title of top tourist destination anytime soon.
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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- Statues of V.I. Lenin are everywhere in this remote corner of the former Soviet empire.
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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan -- The author's camera catches a corrupt cop in the act of taking a bribe, a routine occurrence in Tajikistan's capital.
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We were sitting in her office overlooking the rust-colored foothills of the Hindu Kush, Zakia Zaki speaking Persian slow enough for me to follow. A man brought in mugs of black tea and joined us. Zaki was the manager of the radio station I was visiting in Jabul Saraj, at the mouth to the mythic Panjshir valley, then half a day's drive north of Kabul. The gentleman was her deputy. It was a first: I had never seen a man serve a woman tea in Afghanistan. But I knew at the time that Zaki was a special woman. more