After watching super exciting videos of people driving around Herat and being inspired by a *comment* I am revising my earlier post about the source of this image:

Rather than being Shahyaad Square it appears to be a traffic circle in Herat built in the last 5 years.

Here are some screen shots from youtube.

From a.j.b.’s Flickr

Today, to mark the February 5 ‘Soviet Exodus’ from Afghanistan, The National Geographic Society is using warrug.com’s Rug #426 as its Map of the Day today.

Attorney Mark Gold has an oriental rug in his western Massachusetts home that most people call “nice-looking” until he tells them to inspect it more closely. Then they’re enthralled, because this is no run-of-the-mill textile—it’s what is called an Afghan war rug, and what it depicts is somber and stunning: cleverly mixed with age-old botanical and geometric designs are tanks, hand grenades and helicopters. “It’s a beautiful piece in its own right,” says Gold, “but I also think telling a cultural story in that traditional medium is fascinating.”

by Mimi Kirk

Marsh’s combination of miniature painting and textiles from the museum’s collection provide excellent context to consider the war rugs.

Ben Osto introduced me to this interesting combination of tradition and contemporary as well as tribal and pop.
ArtNet Story

From Pitt Rivers Museum

Robert-Goldwater Library Online Resource

Video (embed removed 2024-03-22 to remove unwanted and unwelcome javascript and any resulting cookies)