Portrait of an Afghan Girl

Postcard

Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait by journalist Steve McCurry which appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic.

The women pictured is Sharbat Gula (born ca. 1972), an Afghan woman who was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed.

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The Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan

Postcard

The Intercontinental hotel is located in western Kabul, Afghanistan. It is one of Kabul's best-known hotels and is popular with Westerners. The hotel was assaulted by suicide bombers in June 2011, resulting in at least 21 deaths including the attackers and severe damage to the hotel. The attack was claimed by the Taliban.

 

A few days ago there was an attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul. A hotel popular with Westerners and wealthy Afghans.

Stamps

(right) In 2007 Afghanistan issued a set of three stamps themed national unity.

Mirwais Khan Neeka (1673-1715) was an influential tribal chief of the Ghilzai Pashtuns from Kandahar, Afghanistan. He founded the Hotaki dynasty that ruled a wide area in Persia and Afghanistan from 1709 to 1738. 

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Hello from Afghanistan

Postcard

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.

From the back of the postcard:

“A typical day in Afghanistan. US forces share a meal with Afghan officials; the Afghanistan flag flutters above the palace of President Hamid Karzai in Kabul; a man guides his donkey along a street; children share a laugh with troops outside a Combat Operating Post.”

Stamp

The label says “mailed from APO. AE 09320”. APO are the initials from Army Post Office. And 09320 indicates that the postcard is sent from a military camp in Kabul.

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