Ann Marlowe, 09.02.09, Forbes.com
For the cities of Afghanistan, the 21st century may be the road to dystopia. Like many million-plus cities of the Islamic world, Kabul, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, and to a lesser extent, Herat, have already joined the worst of East and West, traditional and modern. They have the stifling, impractical concrete and glass buildings that read as “modern” in the developing world, but none of the elements of contemporary civil society.
–snip–
Yet looking forward to the next 100 years, there are a few rays of sunshine. One is the wonderful conservation work being done on an austere budget, and without fanfare, by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Afghanistan. With just one foreign architect on staff, Jolyon Leslie, skilled Afghan architects and craftsmen have renovated properties in an area of Kabul that is home to more than 20,000 people. A typical project, renovating an 18th-century home, costs just $60,000 to $100,000. Thanks to the fine work of the AKTC, the Afghanistan of 2109 will still have access to its heritage.
Read at the source: http://www.forbes.com
Ismailimail 