56. Mazar 2011

I am just wrapping up my second trip to Mazar e Sharif. I came here last year around the same time on a trip that changed my life. The experiences, the friendships and the memories have stayed with me all this time. So naturally, when we decided to shoot the second phase of the Guardians of Peace campaign, I thought of coming back to this great historic city. 

It's been interesting to experience this place with a new group of people and see different locations that I didn't get a chance to see along with the same landmarks like Rowza shrine that I visited last time which looks exactly as it has for centuries. I got to go out to the rural areas for the filming of the first TV spot to a village called Deh Dadi on the outskirts of Mazar. This location was chosen because it was so remote and not a soul could be found in site. But when we arrived on the day of filming, it looked like we had gathered a crowd the size of half of Mazar's population. The people were very friendly though but definitely curious. We spent half the time trying to control the crowd and half the time actually filming. 

The next day, we hiked up to the top of Afghanistan -- now for those of you who know me personally, you know how much I hate hiking, so I was very proud of myself for making it up to the top. It was a very long and difficult climb but I finally made it with a little help from my wonderful Body Guard who decided halfway up when I started blacking out to just grab my hand and pull me up the rest of the way. After my breath caught up with me, oxygen re-entered my brain and blood started flowing again in my veins, I looked around to find the most breathtaking view I have ever seen. There were snowcapped mountains behind us, rolling hills all around us and the most interesting landscape I have ever seen. It was serene and peaceful. We all took some time to ourselves to walk around, meditate, pray, sing, take pictures and just become one with true nature. The sound of gun fire from the military base nearby brought us back to reality though. It's so hard for me to imagine how such serenity and peace can exist together with destruction and war. After 10 years, I still haven't figured it out. 

The brisk chill also helped bring us back out of our trance. What started out as a slight chill turned into the coldest wind I have ever felt. At one point, after I wrapped myself in all the extra pieces of costume lying around, I realized I couldn't feel my fingertips anymore. The prospect of frost bite wasn't appealing at the moment so I just stuck my hands in my pockets and visualized my hands digging in warm sand, which actually helped a bit. Despite it all, we managed to wrap up another successful shoot. It still amazes me to see how everything comes together in the final product after witnessing the chaos that ensues during the shoot. The characters are not trained actors, no one pays attention or follows instructions, equipment is always breaking down, no one shows up on time and even the sun and wind refuse to work with us. 

So here I am once again contemplating if I want to risk my life tomorrow as I start my journey back to Kabul by: 

1. Air (flying with an airline that has no license to operate over blizzards and snow storms to land on ice in Kabul or just be turned back around to Mazar as my co-worker's flight was this morning) 

or 

2. Car (whizzing through black ice and blizzards, being stuck in the Salang Tunnel for hours and risking death by an avalanche) 

Either way, it was a good trip with new memories, new friendships and new experiences to add to my book of life. Here are some photos that were taken by my friend and talented photographer, Tareq

Majidy.