Afghanistan. Mazar-i-Sharif. 1990
In the morning softness, chadris are sometimes seen flying over the mosque esplanade. Fertility is said to be promised to those who would walk forty times around the sanctuary, first thing every morning, for forty days. The town is the highest pilgrimage destination for the Afghan people. Nearly ten years of war against the Russians followed by ten years of fratricidal conflicts prevented the Afghans from making the journey to this sacred place. The fall of the Talibans marked a rush towards the mosque with white pigeons.