ADRIAN PANARO

A visual and historical  chronicle of the experiences of two brothers traveling throughout Afghanistan when that remote nation was nominally ruled by a king and mostly at peace within its own borders. Little more than a year following their travels, Afghanistan began to spiral into the war and upheaval that still marks the fate of its people and institutions after nearly 50 years. 

Featured are the massive 4th century BCE statues of the Buddha at Bamian. Photographs of these and murals painted on the walls of the niches surrounding the larger of the two Buddhas provide a testament to the loss of these great relics dynamited by Taliban iconoclasts in 2001 and completely destroyed.

The photographs feature encounters with the Afghan people and the natural and historical marvels of the high deserts and mountains, following the Central Asian silk route utilized by Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan and Tamerlan, notables among the throngs of invaders passing through this storied land even up to the present.

Afghanistan, Photographs 1971-1972 is sumptuously illustrated with 110 beautiful photographs taken by the Panaro brothers just before the nation of Afghanistan began its long descent into social upheaval, war and chaos. Short essays, reminiscences by each brother, and an essay on the art of the Bamian Valley accompany the photographs.

Hardcover, imagewrap around, 94 pp, 12 1/2 x 13

For a limited edition signed copy please use the contact page below.