“So, tour guides are in danger.”īefore starting his tour company, Let’s Be Friends Afghanistan, in 2016, Ramazan was a security officer for an American nongovernmental organisation (NGO) working on agricultural projects in northern Afghanistan. They considered tourists to be infidels, and guides to be slaves of infidels,” says Ramazan. ![]() “Historically, the Taliban have never really understood tourism. In better times, Afghanistan has offered visitors striking natural beauty and an array of experiences from the snow-capped Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains to dazzling Islamic architecture, historical monuments, and food, textiles, crafts, and hospitality at the intersection of Pashtun, Persian, Hazara, and Turkic cultures.īut after the cataclysmic events of mid-August-the violent takeover by the Taliban and rapid collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government-Ramazan and many other tour operators were among hundreds of thousands of Afghans who fled the country in fear for their safety. “We just wanted people to understand that there are positive aspects to the country,” says Ramazan. For years, Noor Ramazan and a small, tight-knit community of several dozen tour guides and drivers in Afghanistan have introduced travellers during peacetime to the natural and historic wonders of a country better known for decades of war and upheaval.
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