CIVIL SOCIETY

AFGHANS SEEK TO REDISCOVER THE MEANING OF LEISURE
Patrick Andrade 1/14/05

Amid the tumult of Afghanistan’s reconstruction, a fortunate few are trying to rediscover the concept of leisure. The Kabul Golf Club is among the recreational options that have appeared in and around the Afghan capital. But as this photo essay by Patrick Andrade illustrates, a round of golf features some unique hazards.

The nine-hole golf course is landscaped in a unique "desert" style. That means the putting greens contain no grass. Instead, the surface around the golf holes is a mixture of sand and motor oil. While golfers now struggle to negotiate the rock-strewn fairways, the course at one point during the 1990s was literally a battleground – the scene of skirmishes between rival Mujahedeen factions who were vying to take control of the capital at the time.

The club recently sponsored Afghanistan’s first golf tournament in over 30 years. Caddies were the primary competitors to become the Kabul club champion. Prior to the 1979 Soviet occupation, Afghanistan was a popular tourist destination that offering a variety of Western-style recreational activities. The anti-Soviet insurgency, followed by civil warfare, put an end to recreational activities for the next quarter century.