ONCE YOU HAVE COMMITMENT, YOU TODAY 1770 1919 1942 2008 QUOTE NEED THE DISCIPLINE AND HARD DAY IN OF THE WORK TO GET YOU THERE. British explorer Captain Sir Barton wins the Belmont World War II: The United States The Fermi Gamma-ray Space DAY HISTORY James Cook runs aground on Stakes, becoming the first horse agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to Telescope is launched into orbit. HAILE GEBRSELASSIE the Great Barrier Reef. to win the U.S. Triple Crown. the Soviet Union. MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018 Karak Break TOP Customers love Afghan’s flourishing convenience TWEETS4 terror tourism 01 Many western tourists visiting Afghanistan to explore its history are using social networking apps to connect and stay with Afghan hosts at no cost MOHAMED ISA bank employee called me up: “We placed a block order on your credit ow great would it have card until you make the minimum n April 19, a convoy of 100 tourists used his services Most of the Taliban The backpacking odyssey of while showing him around his Hbeen if, after Trump’s requiredA payment?” I asked him: “How Canadian officials inter- in 2013. That number dropped Couchsurfing hosts are Adams took him through parts opium fields. That evening the early departure from the much?” And he replied: “BHD 7.” I retorted: Ocepted Joshua Adams, to a mere 50 tourists in 2017. In low-ranking fighters, bored of Afghanistan where few for- host took Adams for tea with G7, the other leaders had is- “I’ll pay BHD 20 today.” He thanked me and a 24-year-old counselor for 2016, the Wild Frontiers, a Brit- with the unending war and eigners had ventured in years. two Taliban fighters in a nearby sued a statement calling for hanged up. homeless gay teenagers in To- ish adventure travel company, curious about the world be- He spent his time exploring orchard. “My host’s uncle told the Mueller investigation On the way home, I stopped by the Bank’s ronto, on a remote road in cen- canceled its “Afghan Explorer” the largely neglected heritage me they were Taliban fighters, The Author having dinner with his host in Kabul to be allowed to proceed Cash Machine to make the payment. I in- tral Afghanistan. They tracked tours because of Afghanistan’s yond. These apps give them of the country: the ruins of the and I started laughing because unimpeded?. serted my credit card and deposited the him down by following his In- weak security. a chance to meet peaceful 11th-century fortress of Bost in I thought it was a joke. Then @BillKristol cash. While I was waiting for the payment stagram account, where he had Yet amid increased violence, foreigners and engage Lashkar Gah in Helmand; the they told me he was serious,” 2012, Nenad Stojanovic, a hitch- detained him. After ascertaining those seeking sanctuary, even Survivor.” confirmation message on the screen, it had been posting images of himself Afghanistan retains a firm place them with their worldviews, 80-feet-high murals of pastel he recalled. hiker from Serbia, was alarmed his identity, they released him enemies. Unfortunately, Pashtunwali something else to say: “Your transaction drinking tea with the Taliban in on the Central Asian tourism and in some cases try to palm trees and kitschy crescent They conversed in pidgin to discover that his hosts in Her- the next morning and made up This tradition famously saved has been shattered in many Af- 02 cannot be processed. Please press Cancel.” Helmand. circuit. A largely unnoticed persuade foreigners of their moons at the Eid Gah Mosque English for several hours, as at were insurgents. “They were for the confusion by gifting him the life of Officer Marcus Luttrell, ghan communities. The country I pressed “Cancel” few times without getting Adams hadn’t travelled the culture of Western men and right to rule Afghanistan. in Kandahar. plate after plate of food was regular people I randomly met a sherwani robe and sweets. the sole survivor of a United has been plagued by violence any response. Shortly, the machine printed a 6,755 miles to Helmand to join women visiting Afghanistan to Adams was intercepted and forced upon Adams. “It was a in Herat,” he told me. “I only Most of the Taliban Couch- States Navy SEAL team ambushed since 1978. Last year, the Unit- slip that said: “Your card and cash deposited the Taliban or to volunteer in a explore its history and staying persuaded to leave Afghanistan really relaxed setting,” he said. found out that they were Tal- surfing hosts are low-ranking by Taliban fighters in 2005. Hav- ed Nations Assistance Mission were held by the machine, please contact the battle against the Islamic State. with Afghan hosts at no charge a few miles from the minaret “We mainly just talked, smoked iban after spending a night at fighters, bored with the unend- ing been wounded and left for in Afghanistan counted over Call Center.” He had gone to explore the his- using a social networking app of Jam, a fabled 12th-century and ate fruit.” He ended up stay- their place.” ing war and curious about the dead on the rugged slopes of the 10,000 civilian casualties, while Having the card and cash withheld did tory of Afghanistan, from the called Couchsurfing has come structure of exquisite brickwork ing with them for several nights, Despite his initial fears, he world beyond. These apps give Korengal Valley, Luttrell was aid- opium production reached re- not bother me much, as I know the machine empty niches of the Bamiyan into being. anywhere in the world.” and a blue-tile top soaring over free, before heading back to Ka- found his hosts “surprisingly them a chance to meet peace- ed by Pashtuns from the village cord levels. ’m extremely saddened must be checked daily for cash deposits and Buddhas to the Great Mosque Last summer in Khiva, Uz- Adams, the Danish dumpster 200 feet on the banks of the Hari bul by bus. friendly and hospitable.” They ful foreigners and engage them of Sabray, who looked after him The Taliban continues to Iand sorry that some withdrawals as well as withheld cards, if any. of Herat, famed for its exqui- bekistan, I came across a small diver and the German filmmak- River and circled by high moun- The number of these encoun- gifted him traditional Afghan with their worldviews, and in and protected him until American bomb Kabul and recently re - sentiments have been What bothered me most was the expected site tile mosaics — monuments group of Europeans sitting in the er were part of a small wave of tains in central Ghor province. ters remains vague because clothes, helped him hide his some cases try to persuade for- troops came to his rescue. jected President Ashraf Ghani’s hurt by a recent episode inconvenience of calling the Call Center. I attesting to the country’s place shadow of the great Islam-Hoja travelers who rely on the Couch- Experts consider the minaret to they rarely make it into official backpack in a sack and ad - eigners of their right to rule Af- “We did not rescue Marcus calls for political reconciliation. of Quantico. That was do not know about you, but I dread calling on the Silk Road. minaret, hoping to make it to Af- surfing app and similar social be the last standing remains of records. I spoke with 14 peo - vised him to take a particular ghanistan. for money or privileges,” said In such a grim context, these not and would never be them. These calls seem to go forever. And Tourist arrivals in Afghan- ghanistan. A Danish dumpster media sites to see Afghanistan. Firozkoh, the lost capital of the ple who had met with Taliban bus through Kandahar to avoid The Taliban Couchsurfing Mohammad Gulab, the villager bizarre encounters between the my intention. I sincere- istan have been in steady de - diver and an amateur German Kabul alone has about 1,000 Ghurid dynasty. through the app and was able being stopped by the police or community also exists partly who looked after Luttrell, in an Taliban and Westerners offer a ly apologise. I’m a proud cline ever since the bulk of NATO filmmaker secured their visas Couchsurfing hosts. Last De- A significant number of the to confirm 30 more cases. The other Taliban on his way to the because of older Afghan tra - interview with The Daily Beast. faint glimmer of hope. Indian and that will never I called the bank. It forces pulled out of the coun- and crossed the border bridge cember, I estimated that 36 per Afghans hosting the Couch - exact figure seems to be higher border with Tajikistan. ditions of hospitality, such as “By rescuing and keeping him change. surfing tourists happen to be because some of these Taliban took me 16 minutes to try in 2014. Muqim Jamshady, over the Amu Darya River into cent of visitors who had written About 50 miles from the bor- Pashtunwali, the Pashtun tribal safe for five nights in our home, (Sam Dalrymple, a student at Oxford, @priyankachopra who runs Afghan Logistics Afghanistan. “So much heritage references for their Kabul hosts members of the Taliban. Ad - had hosted Westerners before. der, policemen at a check post in code of ethics and honor. One we were only doing our cultur- worked at Turquoise Mountain, a non- finish the call. I and Tours, a travel company in and history,” the Dane told me. on the Couchsurfing site were ams’ host in Helmand revealed Few, if any, of these travelers Kunduz province mistook Sto- of its core principles dictates al obligation.” Their story was governmental organization in Kabul, inevitably had to go Kabul, told me that more than “The hospitality is better than women.