Podcasts about bamyan

This episode we will finish up the travels of Xuanzang, who circumnavigated the Indian subcontinent while he was there, spending over a decade and a half travelings, visiting important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and studying at the feet of learned monks of India, and in particular at Nalanda monastery--a true center of learning from this period. For more, check out our blogpost page:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-122 Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 122:  Journey to the West, Part 3 The courtyard at Nalanda was quiet.  Although hundreds of people were crowded in, trying to hear what was being said, they were all doing their best to be silent and still.  Only the wind or an errant bird dared speak up.  The master's voice may not have been what it once was—he was definitely getting on in years—but Silabhadra's mind was as sharp as ever. At the front of the crowd was a relatively young face from a far off land.  Xuanzang had made it to the greatest center of learning in the world, and he had been accepted as a student of perhaps the greatest sage of his era.  Here he was, receiving lessons on some of the deepest teachings of the Mahayana Buddhist sect, the very thing he had come to learn and bring home. As he watched and listened with rapt attention, the ancient teacher began to speak….   For the last two episodes, and continuing with this one, we have been covering the travels of the monk Xuanzang in the early 7th century, starting around 629 and concluding in 645.  Born during the Sui dynasty, Xuanzang felt that the translations of the Buddhist sutras available in China were insufficient—many of them had been made long ago, and often were translations of translations.  Xuanzang decided to travel to India in the hopes of getting copies in the original language to provide more accurate translations of the sutras, particularly the Mahayana sutras.  His own accounts of his journeys, even if drawn from his memory years afterwards, provide some of our most detailed contemporary evidence of the Silk Road and the people and places along the way.  After he returned, he got to work on his translations, and became quite famous.  Several of the Japanese students of Buddhism who traveled to the Tang dynasty in the 650s studied under him directly and brought his teachings back to Japan with them.  His school of “Faxiang” Buddhism became known in Japan as the Hosso sect, and was quite popular during the 7th and 8th centuries.  Xuanzang himself, known as Genjou in Japan, would continue to be venerated as an important monk in the history of Buddhism, and his travels would eventually be popularized in fantastic ways across East Asia. Over the last couple of episodes we talked about Xuanzang's illegal and harrowing departure from the Tang empire, where he had to sneak across the border into the deserts of the Western Regions.  We then covered his time traveling from Gaochang, to Suyab, and down to Balkh, in modern Afghanistan.  This was all territory under the at least nominal control of the Gokturk empire.  From Balkh he traveled to Bamyan, and then on to Kapisa, north of modern Kabul, Afghanistan.  However, after Kapisa, Xuanzang was finally entering into the northern territories of what he knew as “India”, or “Tianzhu”. Here I would note that I'm using “India” to refer not to a single country, but to the entirety of the Indian subcontinent, and all of the various kingdoms there -- including areas now part of the modern countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  The Sinitic characters used to denote this region are pronounced, today, as “Tianzhu”, with a rough meaning of “Center of Heaven”, but it is likely that these characters were originally pronounced in such a way that the name likely came from terms like “Sindhu” or “Induka”.  This is related to the name of the Sindh or Indus river, from which India gets its name.  Xuanzang's “Record of the Western Regions” notes that the proper pronunciation of the land should be “Indu”.  In Japan, this term was transmitted through the Sinitic characters, or kanji, and pronounced as “Tenjiku”.  Since it featured so prominently in the stories of the life of the Buddha and many of the Buddhist sutras, Tenjiku was known to the people of the Japanese archipelago as a far off place that was both real and fantastical. In the 12th century, over a thousand stories were captured for the “Konjaku Monogatarishu”, or the “Collection of Tales Old and New”, which is divided up into tales from Japan, China, and India.  In the famous 9th or 10th century story, “Taketori Monogatari”, or the “Bamboo-Cutter's Tale”, about princess Kaguya hime, one of the tasks the princess sets to her suitors is to go to India to find the begging bowl of the Buddha.  Records like those produced by Xuanzang and his fellow monks, along with the stories in the sutras, likely provided the majority of what people in the Japanese archipelago knew about India, at least to begin with. Xuanzang talks about the land of India as being divided into five distinct parts—roughly the north, south, east, west, and center.  He notes that three sides face the sea and that the Snow Mountains—aka the Himalayas—are in the north.  It is, he says, “Wide in the north and narrow in the south, in the shape of a crescent moon”.  Certainly the “Wide in the north and narrow in the south” fit the subcontinent accurately enough, and it is largely surrounded by the waters of what we know as the Indian Ocean to the west, the east, and the south.  The note about the Crescent Moon might be driven by Xuanzang's understanding of a false etymology for the term “Indus”, which he claims comes from the word for “moon”.  Rather, this term appears to refer to the Indus River, also known as the Sindh or Sindhus, which comes from an ancient word meaning something like “River” or “Stream”. Xuanzang also notes that the people of the land were divided into castes, with the Brahman caste at the top of the social hierarchy.    The land was further divided into approximately 70 different countries, according to his accounts.  This is known broadly as the Early Medieval period, in India, in which the region was divided into different kingdoms and empires that rose and fell across the subcontinent, with a total size roughly equivalent to that covered by the countries of the modern European Union.  Just like Europe, there were many different polities and different languages spoken across the land – but just as Latin was the common language in Europe, due to its use in Christianity, Sanskrit was the scholarly and religious language in much of India, and could also be used as a bridge language.  Presumably, Xuanzang understood Sanskrit to some extent as a Buddhist monk.  And, just a quick note, all of this was before the introduction of Islam, though there were other religions also practiced throughout the subcontinent, but Xuanzang was primarily focused on his Buddhist studies. Xuanzang describes India as having three distinct seasons—The hot season, the rainy season, and the cold season, in that order.  Each of these were four month long periods.  Even today, the cycle of the monsoon rains is a major impact on the life of people in South Asia.  During the rainy season, the monks themselves would retreat back to their monasteries and cease their wanderings about the countryside. This tradition, called “Vassa”, is still a central practice in many Theravada Buddhist societies such as Thailand and Laos today, where they likewise experience this kind of intensely wet monsoon season. Xuanzang goes on to give an in depth analysis of the people and customs of the Indian subcontinent, as he traveled from country to country. So, as we've done before, we'll follow his lead in describing the different locations he visited. The first country of India that Xuanzang came to was the country of Lampa, or Lamapaka, thought to be modern Laghman province in Afghanistan.  At the time it was a dependency of Kapisa.  The Snow Mountains, likely meaning the Hindu Kush, the western edge of the Himalayas, lay at its north, while the “Black Mountains” surrounded it on the other three sides.  Xuanzang mentions how the people of Lampa grow non-glutinous rice—likely something similar to basmati rice, which is more prevalent in South Asian cuisine, as compared to glutinous rice like more often used in East Asia. From Lampa he headed to Nagarahara, likely referring to a site near the Kabul River associated with the ruins of a stupa called Nagara Gundi, about 4 kilometers west of modern Jalalabad, Afghanistan.  This was another vassal city-state of Kapisa.  They were still Mahayana Buddhists, but there were other religions as well, which Xuanzang refers to as “heretical”, though I'm not entirely sure how that is meant in this context.  He does say that many of the stupas were dilapidated and in poor condition. Xuanzang was now entering areas where he likely believed the historical Buddha had once walked.  In fact, Lampa was perhaps the extent of historical Buddha's travels, according to the stories and the sutras, though this seems unlikely to have been true.  The most plausible locations for the Historical Buddha's pilgrimages were along the Ganges river, which was on the other side of the subcontinent, flowing east towards modern Kolkatta and the Bengal Bay.  However, as Buddhism spread, so, too, did stories of the Buddha's travels.  And so, as far as Xuanzang was concerned, he was following in the footsteps of the Buddha. Speaking of which, at Nagarahara, Xuanzang mentions “footprints” of the Buddha.  This is a Buddhist tradition found in many places.  Xuanzang claims that the Tathagatha, the Englightened One, or the Buddha, would fly, because when he walked the land itself shook.  Footprint shapes in rock could be said to be evidence of the Buddha's travels.  Today, in many Buddhist areas you can find footprints carved into rock conforming to stories about the Buddha, such as all the toes being of the same length, or other various signs.  These may have started out as natural depressions in the rock, or pieces of artwork, but they were believed by many to be the actual point at which the Buddha himself touched down.  There are famous examples of these footprints in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and China.  Of course there are also traditions of creating images of the footprint as an object of worship.  Images of footprints, similar to images of the Great Wheel of the Law, may have been some of the earliest images for veneration, as images of the Buddha himself did not appear until much later in the tradition.  One of the oldest such footprints in Japan is at Yakushiji temple, and dated to 753.  It was created based on a rubbing brought back by an envoy to the Tang court, while they were in Chang'an. Like Buddha footprints, there are many other images and stories that show up multiple times in different places, even in Xuanzang's own narrative.  For example, in Nagarahara Xuanzang also shares a story of a cave, where an image of the Buddha could be just barely made out on the wall – maybe maybe an old carving that had just worn away, or maybe an image that was deliberately placed in the darkness as a metaphor for finding the Buddha—finding enlightenment.  This is not an uncommon theme in Buddhism as a whole.  In any case, the story around this image was that it had been placed there to subdue a naga. Now a naga is a mythical snake-like being, and  we are told that this particular naga was the reincarnation of a man who had invoked a curse on the nearby kingdom, then threw himself from a cliff in order to become a naga and sow destruction.  As the story went, the man was indeed reborn, but before he could bring destruction, the Buddha showed up and subdued him, convincing him that this was not right.  And so the naga agreed to stay in the cave, where the Buddha left an image—a shadow—to remind the naga any time that its thoughts might turn to destruction. Later in his travels, at a place name Kausambi, Xuanzang mentions another cave where the Buddha had subdued a venomous dragon and left his shadow on the cave wall.  Allowing for the possibility that the Buddha just had a particular M.O. when dealing with destructive beings, we should also consider the possibility that the story developed in one region—probably closer to the early center of Buddhism, and then traveled outward, such that it was later adopted and adapted to local traditions.  From Nagarahara, Xuanzang continued to the country of Gandhara and its capital city of Purushapura, aka modern Peshwar.  This kingdom was also under vassalage to the Kapisan king.  Here and elsewhere in the journey, Xuanzang notes not only evidence of the historical Buddha, but also monasteries and stupas purported to have been built by King Kanishka and King Asoka.  These were important figures who were held in high regard for spreading Buddhism during their reign.  Continuing through the region of Gandhara, he also passed through Udakhand and the city of Salatura, known as the birthplace of the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, Daksiputra Panini, author of the Astadhyayi [Aestudjayi].  This work is the oldest surviving description of classical Sanskrit, and used grammatical and other concepts that wouldn't be introduced into Western linguistics for eons.  Daksiputra Panini thrived around the 5th or 4th century BCE, but was likely one of the reasons that Sanskrit continued to be used as a language of scholarship and learning even as it died out of usage as the day to day language of the common people.  His works and legacy would have been invaluable to translators like Xuanzang in understanding and translating from Sanskrit. Xuanzang continued on his journey to Kashmira, situated in the Kashmir Valley.  This valley sits between the modern states of Pakistan and India, and its ownership is actively disputed by each.  It is the namesake of the famous cashmere wool—wool from the winter coats of a type of goat that was bred in the mountainous regions.  The winter coat would be made of soft, downy fibers and would naturally fall out in the spring, which the goatherds harvested and made into an extremely fine wool.  In the 7th century and earlier, however, the region was known not as much for its wool, but as a center for Hindu and Buddhist studies.  Xuanzang ended up spending two years in Kashmira studying with teachers there.  Eventually, though, he continued on, passing through the country of Rajpura, and continuing on to Takka and the city of Sakala—modern day Sialkot in the Punjab region of modern Pakistan.  Leaving Sakala, he was traveling with a group when suddenly disaster struck and they were accosted by a group of bandits.  They took the clothes and money of Xuanzang and those with him and then they drove the group into a dry pond in an attempt to corral them while they figured out what they would do—presumably meaning kill them all.  Fortunately for the group, there was a water drain at the southern edge of the pond large enough for one man to pass through.  Xuanzang and one other went through the gap and they were able to escape to a nearby village.  Once they got there, they told the people what had happened, and the villagers quickly gathered weapons and ran out to confront the brigands, who saw a large group coming and ran away.  Thus they were able to rescue the rest of Xuanzang's traveling companions.  Xuanzang's companions were devastated, having lost all of their possessions.  However, Xuanzang comforted them.  After all, they still had their lives.  By this time, Xuanzang had certainly seen his fair share of life and death problems along the road.  They continued on, still in the country of Takka, to the next great city.  There they met a Brahman, and once they told him what had happened, he started marshalling the forces of the city on their behalf.  During Xuanzang's stay in Kashmira, he had built a reputation, and people knew of the quote-unquote “Chinese monk”.  And even though the people in this region were not necessarily Buddhist—many were “heretics” likely referring to those of Hindu faith—the people responded to this pre-Internet “GoFundMe” request with incredible generosity.  They brought Xuanzang food and cloth to make into suits of clothes.  Xuanzang distributed this to his travel companions, and ended up still having enough cloth for 50 suits of clothes himself.  He then stayed at that city a month. It is odd that they don't seem to mention the name of this location.  Perhaps there is something unspeakable about it?  Still, it seems that they were quite generous, even if they were “heretics” according to Xuanzang. From the country of Takka, he next proceeded to the kingdom of Cinabhukti, where he spent 14 months—just over a year—studying with the monks there.  Once he had learned what he could, he proceeded onwards, passing through several countries in northern India until he came to the headwaters of the sacred Ganges rivers.  The Indus and the Ganges rivers are in many ways similar to the Yellow River and Yangzi, at least in regards to their importance to the people of India.  However, whereas the Yellow River and Yangzi both flow east towards the Pacific Ocean, the Indus and Ganges flow in opposite directions.  The Indus flows southwest, from the Himalayas down through modern India into modern Pakistan, emptying into the western Indian Ocean.  The Ganges flows east along the base of the Himalayas and enters the eastern Indian Ocean at Kolkatta.   At the headwaters of the Ganges, Xuanzang found a Buddhist monk named Jayagupta and chose to spend the winter and half of the following spring listening to his sermons and learning at his feet. From there he continued his travels, and ended up being summoned by King Harshavardhana of Kanyakubja, known today as the modern city of Kannauj.  Harshavardhana ruled an immense state that covered much of the territory around the sacred Ganges river.  As word of this strange monk from a far off land reached him, the King wanted to see him for himself.  Xuanzang stayed in Kannauj for three months, completing his studies of the Vibhasha Shastra, aka the Abhidarmma Mahavibhasha Shastra, known in Japanese as the Abidatsuma Daibibasharon, or just as the Daibibasharon or the Basharon, with the latter two terms referring to the translations that Xuanzang performed.   This work is not a sutra, per se, but rather an encyclopedic work that attempted to speak on all of the various doctrinal issues of its day.  It is thought to have been authored around 150 CE, and was influential in the Buddhist teachings of Kashmira, when that was a center of Orthodoxy at the time.  This is what Xuanzang had started studying, and it seems that in Kannauj he was finally able to grasp everything he felt he needed to know about it in order to effectively translate it and teach it when he returned.  That said, his quest was not over.  And after his time in Kannauj, he decided to continue on. His next stop was at the city of Ayodhya.  This was—and is—a city of particular importance in Hindu traditions.  It is said to be the city mentioned in the epic tale known as the Ramayana, though many argue that it was simply named that later in honor of that ancient city.  It does appear to be a city that the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, visited and where he preached.  It was also the home of a famous monk from Gandhara who authored a number of Buddhist tomes and was considered, at least by Xuanzang, a proper Boddhisatva.  And so Xuanzang spent some time paying homage to the places where the Buddha and other holy figures had once walked. “Ayodhya” appears in many forms across Asia.  It is a major pilgrimage center, and the city of “Ayutthaya” in Thailand was named for it, evoking the Ramayana—known in Thai as the Ramakien—which they would adopt as their own national story.  In Silla, there is a story that queen Boju, aka Heo Hwang-ok, wife to the 2nd century King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, traveled to the peninsula all the way from the foreign country of “Ayuta”, thought to mean Ayodhya.  Her story was written down in the Gaya histories and survives as a fragment found in the Samguk Yusa.  Members of the Gimhae Kim, Gimhae Heo, and Incheon Yi clans all trace their lineage back to her and King Suro. From Ayodhya, Xuanzang took a trip down the Ganges river.  The boat was packed to bursting with some 80 other travelers, and as they traveled towards a particularly heavily forested area, they were set upon by bandits, who rowed their ships out from hiding in the trees and forced the travelers to the shore.  There the bandits made all the travelers strip down and take off their clothing so that the bandits could search for gold or valuables.  According to Xuanzang's biography, these bandits were followers of Durga, a Hindu warrior-goddess, and it is said that each year they would look for someone of particularly handsome features to sacrifice to her.  With Xuanzang's foreign features, they chose him.  And so they took him to be killed.  Xuanzang mentioned that he was on a pilgrimage, and that by interrupting him before they finished he was worried it might be inauspicious for them, but he didn't put up a fight and merely asked to be given time to meditate and calm his mind and that they perform the execution quickly so that he wouldn't even notice. From there, according to the story, a series of miracles occurred that ended up with Xuanzang being released and the bandits worshipping at his feet.  It is times like this we must remember that this biography was being written by Xuanzang's students based on stories he told them about his travels.  While being accosted by bandits on the river strikes me as perfectly plausible, we don't necessarily have the most reliable narrators, so I'm going to have to wonder about the rest.  Speaking of unreliable narration, the exact route that Xuanzang traveled from here on is unclear to me, based on his stated goals and where he was going.  It is possible that he was wandering as opportunities presented themselves —I don't know that he had any kind of map or GPS, like we've said in the past.  And it may be that the routes from one place to another were not always straightforward.  Regardless, he seems to wander southeast for a period before turning again to the north and eventually reaching the city of Shravasti. Shravasti appeared in our discussion of the men of Tukhara in Episode 119.  With the men of Tukhara there was also mentioned a woman from Shravasti.  While it is unlikely that was actually the case—the names were probably about individuals from the Ryukyuan island chain rather than from India—it is probably worth nothing that Shravasti was a thriving place in ancient times.  It was at one time the capital city of the kingdom of Kosala, sharing that distinction with the city of Ayodhya, back in the 7th to 5th centuries BCE.  It is also where the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was said to have spend many years of his life.  This latter fact would have no doubt made it a place of particular importance to Xuanzang on his journeys. From there he traveled east, ending up following the foothills of the Himalayas, and finally came to some of the most central pilgrimages sites for followers of the historical Buddha.  First, he reached Lumbini wood, in modern Nepal, said to have been the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha.  And then he visited Kushinagara, the site where the Buddha ascended to nirvana—in other words, the place where he passed away.  From there, he traveled to Varanasi, and the deer park monastery, at the place where the Buddha is said to have given one of his most famous sermons.  He even visited the Bodhi tree, the tree under which Siddhartha Gautama is said to have attained enlightenment.  He spent eight or nine days there at Bodhgaya, and word must have spread about his arrival, because several monks from the eminent Nalanda Monastery called upon him and asked him to come to the monastery with them. Nalanda Monastery was about 80 km from Bodhgaya.  This was a grand monastery and center of learning—some say that it was, for a time, the greatest in the world.  It had been founded in the 5th century by the Gupta dynasty, and many of the Gupta rulers and others donated to support the monastery, which also acted as a university.  After the fall of the Gupta dynasty, the monastery was supported by King Harsha of Kannauj, whom Xuanzang had visited earlier.  It ultimately thrived for some 750 years, and is considered by some to be the oldest residential university—meaning that students would come to the temple complex and stay in residence for years at a time to study.  According to Xuanzang, Nalanda hosted some 10,000 monks. Including hosts and guests.  They didn't only study Buddhist teachings, but also logic, grammar, medicine, and divination.  Lectures were given at more than 100 separate places—or classrooms—every day.  It was at Nalanda, that Xuanzang would meet the teacher Silabhadra, who was known as the Right Dharma Store.  Xuanzang requested that he be allowed to study the Yogacharabhumi Shastra—the Yugashijiron, in Japanese.  This is the work that Xuanzang is said to have been most interested in, and one of the works that he is credited with bringing back in one of the first full translations to the Tang dynasty and then to others in East Asia.  It is an encyclopedic work dedicated to the various forms of Yogacara practice, which focuses on the mental disciplines, and includes yoga and meditation practices.  It has a huge influence on nearly all Mahayana schools, including things like the famous Zen and Pure Land schools of Buddhism.  The Yogacharabhumi Shastra is the earliest such encyclopedic work, compiled between the 3rd and 5th centuries—so even if the monk Faxian had brought portions of it back, it was probably not in the final form that Xuanzang was able to access. Silabhadra, for his part, was an ancient teacher—some put his age at 106 years, and his son was in his 70s.  He was one of the few at Nalandra who supposedly knew all of the various texts that they had at the monastery, including the Yogacarabhumi Shastra.  Xuanzang seems to have been quite pleased to study under him.  Xuanzang stayed at the house of Silabhadra's son, Buddhabhadra, and they welcomed him with entertainment that lasted seven days.  We are told that he was then given his own lodgings, a stipend of spices, incense, rice, oil, butter, and milk, along with a servant and a Brahman.  As a visiting monk, he was not responsible for the normal monastic duties, instead being expected to spend the time in study.  Going out, he was carried around by an elephant.   This was certainly the royal treatment. Xuanzang's life at Nalandra wasn't all books: south of the monastery was the city of Rajagrha, the old capital of the kingdom of Magadha, where the ancient Gupta kings had once lived, and on occasional breaks from his studies, Xuanzang would venture out to see the various holy sites.  This included the famous Mt. Grdhrakuta, or Vulture Peak, a location said to be favored by the historical Buddha and central to the Lotus Sutra, arguably the founding document of Mahayana Buddhist tradition. After all, “Mahayana” means “Greater Vehicle” and it is in the Lotus Sutra that we see the metaphor of using different vehicles to escape a burning house.   We've already talked a bit about how the image of Vulture Peak had already become important in Japanese Buddhism: In Episode 112 we talked about how in 648, Abe no Oho-omi had drums piled up at Shitennoji in the shape of Vulture Peak. But although the sightseeing definitely enhanced his experience, Xuanzang was first and foremost there to study.  He spent 15 months just listening to his teacher expound on the Yogacarabhumi Shastra, but he also heard expositions on various other teachings as well.  He ended up studying at Nalandra Monastery for 5 years, gaining a much better understanding of Sanskrit and the various texts, which would be critically important when it came to translating them, later. But, Xuanzang was not one to stay in any one place forever, and so after 5 years—some 8 years or more into his journey, he continued on, following the Ganges east, to modern Bangladesh.  Here he heard about various other lands, such as Dvarapati—possibly referring to Dvaravati, in modern Thailand, as well as Kamalanka and Isanapura.  The latter was in modern Cambodia, the capital of the ancient Chenla kingdom.  Then Mahacampa—possibly referring to the Champa region of Vietnam—and the country of Yamanadvipa.  But there was still more of India for Xuanzang to discover, and more teachings to uncover, and so Xuanzang decided instead to head southwest, following the coast.  He heard of the country of Sinhala, referring to the island of Sri Lanka, but he was urged not to go by ship, as the long journey was perilous.  Instead he could stay on relatively dry land and head down to the southern tip of the subcontinent and then make a quick hop from there across to the island.  He traveled a long distance, all the way down to Kancipuram, the seat of the Pallava dynasty, near modern day Chennai.  From the seaport near Kancipuram, it was only three days to Sinhala—that is to say Sri Lanka—but before he could set out, he met a group of monks who had just arrived.  They told him that the king of Sinhala had died , and there was a great famine and civil disturbances.  So they had fled with some 300 other monks. Xuanzang eventually decided not to make the journey, but he did talk with the monks and gathered information on the lands to the south, on Sri Lanka, and on the islands south of that, by which I suspect he may have meant the Maldives.  While Sri Lanka is an area important to Buddhist scholarship, particularly to the Theravada schools, this likely did not impress Xuanzang, and indeed he seemed to feel that his studies in Nalanda had more than provided him what he needed.  Sri Lanka, however, is the source of the Pali canon, one of the most complete early canons of Buddhism, which had a huge influence on Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. So Xuanzang took plenty of notes but decided to forego the ocean voyage and headed northwest, instead.  He traveled across the breadth of India to Gujarat, and then turned back east, returning to pay respects once more to his teacher in Nalanda.  While there he heard of another virtuous monk named Prajnabhadra at a nearby monastery.  And so he went to spend several months with him, as well.  He also studied with a layman, Sastrin Jayasena, at Stickwood Hill.  Jayasena was a ksatriya, or nobleman, by birth, and studied both Buddhist and non-Buddhist texts.  He was courted by kings, but had left to continue his studies.  Xuanzang studied with him for another couple of years. Xuanzang remained at Nalanda, learning and teaching, expounding on what he had learned and gathering many copies of the various documents that he wished to take back with him, though he wondered how he might do it.  In the meantime, he also acquired quite the reputation.  We are told that King Siladitya had asked Nalanda for monks who could refute Theravada teachings, and Xuanzang agreed to go.  It isn't clear, but it seems that “Siladitya” was a title, and likely referred to King Harsha of Kannauj, whom we mentioned earlier.  Since he was a foreigner, then there could be no trouble that was brought on Nalanda and the other monks if he did poorly.  While he was waiting to hear back from Siladitya's court, which was apparently taking time to arrange things, the king of Kamarupta reached out to Nalanda with a request that Xuanzang come visit them.  While Xuanzang was reluctant to be gone too long, he was eventually encouraged to go and assuage the king. Kamarupta was a kingdom around the modern Assam region, ruled by King Bhaskaravarman, also known as King Kumara, a royal title.  This kingdom included parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.  Bhaskaravarman, like so many other regents, seems to have been intrigued by the presence of this foreign monk, who had traveled all this way and who had studied at the famous Nalanda Monastery in Magadha. He invited Xuanzang to come to him.  Xuanzang's teacher, Silabhadra, had exhorted him to spread the right Dharma, and to even go to those non-Buddhists in hopes that they might be converted, or at least partially swayed. King Bhaskaravarman was quite taken with Xuanzang, wining and dining him while listening to him preach.  While there, Xuanzang learned about the country of Kamarupta.  He also learned about a path north, by which it was said it was a two month journey to arrive at the land of Shu, in the Sichuan Basin, on the upper reaches of the Yangzi – a kind of shortcut back to the Tang court.  However, the journey was treacherous—possibly even more treacherous than the journey to India had been. Eventually word reached the ears of King Siladitya that Xuanzang was at the court of King Bhaskaravarman, and Siladitya got quite upset.  Xuanzang had not yet come to *his* court, so Siladitya demanded that Bhaskaravarman send the monk to him immediately.  Bhaskaravarman refused, saying he'd rather give Siladitya his own head, which Siladitya said he would gladly accept.  Bhaskaravarman realized he may have miscalculated, and so he sailed up the Ganges with a host of men and Xuanzang to meet with Siladitya.  After a bit of posturing, Siladitya met with Xuanzang, who went with him, and eventually confronted the members of the Theravada sect in debate.  Apparently it almost got ugly, but for the King's intervention.  After a particularly devastating critique of the Theravada position, the Theravada monks are blamed for trying to use violence against Xuanzang and his fellow Mahayana monks from Nalanda, who were prepared to defend themselves.  The King had to step in and break it up before it went too far. Ultimately, Xuanzang was a celebrity at this point and both kings seem to have supported him, especially as he was realizing it was about time to head back to his own country.  Both kings was offered ships, should Xuanzang wish to sail south and then up the coast.  However, Xuanzang elected to take the northern route, hoping to go back through Gaochang, and see that city and its ruler again.  And so the Kings gave him money and valuables , along with wagons for all of the texts.  They also sent an army to protect all of the treasures, and even an elephant and more – sending him back in style with a huge send-off. So Xuanzang retraced his earlier steps, this time on an elephant.  He traveled back to Taxila, to Kashmir, and beyond.  He was invited to stay in Kashmira, but because of his retinue, he wasn't quite at leisure to just go where he wanted.  At one point, near Kapisa—modern Bagram, north of Kabul—they had to cross a river, and about 50 of the almost 700 documents were lost.  The King of Kapisa heard of this and had his own monks make copies to replace them based on their own schools.  The King of Kasmira, hearing that he was in Kapisa, also came to pay his respects. Xuanzang traveled with the King of Kapisa northwest for over a month and reached Lampaka, where he did take some time to visit the various holy sites before continuing northwest.  They had to cross the Snow Mountains—the outskirts of the Himalayas, and even though it wasn't the highest part of the range it was still challenging.  He had to dismount his elephant and travel on foot.  Finally, after going over the high mountains and coming down, he arrived back in the region of Tukhara, in the country of Khowst.  He then came to Kunduz, and paid his respects to the grandson of Yehu Khan.  He was given more guards to escort him eastward, traveling with some merchants.  This was back in Gokturk controlled lands, over a decade later than when he had last visited.  He continued east to Badakshan, stopping there for a month because of the cold weather and snow.  He eventually traveled through the regions of Tukhara and over the Pamir range.  He came down on the side of the Tarim Basin, and noted how the rivers on one side flowed west, while on the other side they flowed east.  The goings were treacherous, and at one point they were beset by bandits.  Though he and the documents were safe, his elephant panicked and fled into the river and drowned.  He eventually ended up in the country of Kashgar, in modern Xinjiang province, at the western edge of the Taklamakan desert. From there he had two options.  He could go north and hug the southern edge of the Tianshan mountains, or he could stay to the south, along the northern edge of the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau.  He chose to go south.  He traveled through Khotan, a land of wool and carpets.  This was a major trade kingdom, and they also grew mulberry trees for silkworms, and were known for their jade.  The king himself heard of Xuanzang and welcomed him, as many others had done.  While he was staying at the Khotanese capital, Xuanzang penned a letter to the Tang court, letting them know of his journey, and that he was returning.  He sent it with some merchants and a man of Gaochang to deliver it to the court. Remember, Xuanzang had left the Tang empire illegally.  Unless he wanted to sneak back in his best hope was that the court was willing to forgive and forget all of that, given everything that he was bringing back with him.  The wait was no doubt agonizing, but he did get a letter back.  It assured him that he was welcome back, and that all of the kingdoms from Khotan back to the governor of Dunhuang had been made aware and were ready to receive him. With such assurances, Xuanzang packed up and headed out.  The king of Khotan granted him more gifts to help see him on his way.  Nonetheless, there was still a perilous journey ahead.  Even knowing the way, the road went through miles and miles of desert, such that in some places you could only tell the trail by the bleached bones of horses and travelers who had not been so fortunate.  Eventually, however, Xuanzang made it to the Jumo River and then on to Dunhuang, from whence he was eventually escorted back to the capital city. It was now the year 645, the year of the Isshi Incident in Yamato and the death of Soga.  Xuanzang had been gone for approximately 16 years.  In that time, the Tang had defeated the Gokturks and taken Gaochang, expanding their control over the trade routes in the desert.  Xuanzang, for his part, was bringing back 657 scriptures, bound in 520 bundles carried by a train of some 20 horses.  He was given a hero's welcome, and eventually he would be set up in a monastery where he could begin the next part of his journey:  Translating all of these books. This was the work of a lifetime, but it is one that would have a profound impact on Buddhism across East Asia.  Xuanzang's translations would revolutionize the understanding of Mahayana Buddhist teachings, and students would come from as far away as the Yamato court to study under him and learn from the teacher who studied and taught at none other than Nalanda monastery itself.  His school would become popular in the Yamato capital, and the main school of several temples, at least for a time.  In addition, his accounts and his biography would introduce many people to the wider world of central and south Asia.  While I could go on, this has already been a story in three parts, and this is, after all, the Chronicles of Japan, so we should probably tune back into what is going on with Yamato.  Next episode, we'll look at one of the most detailed accounts we have of a mission to Chang'an. Until then, I hope that this has been enjoyable.  Xuanzang's story is one of those that isn't just about him, but about the interconnected nature of the entire world at the time.  While his journey is quite epic, there were many people traveling the roads, though most of them didn't write about it afterwards.  People, artifacts, and ideas traveled much greater distances than we often consider at this time, well before any kind of modern travel.  It was dangerous, but often lucrative, and it meant that various regions could have influence well beyond what one might expect. And so, thank you once again for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan

This episode we continue to follow the monk Xuanzang on his path along the silk road.  From Gaochang, he traveled through the Tarim Basin, up over the Tianshan Mountains, to the heart of the Western Gokturk Qaghanate.  From there, he traveled south, through the region of Transoxania to Bactria and the land of Tukhara.  He pushed on into the Hindu Kush, witnessing the stone Buddha statues of Bamiyan, and eventually made his way to the land of Kapisa, near modern Kabul, Afghanistan.  From there he would prepare to enter the Indian subcontinent: the home of the historical Buddha. For more discussion and some photos of the areas along this journey, check out our podcast blog at https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-121   Rough Transcript Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 121: Journey to the West, Part 2   The cold winds blew through the travelers' doubled up clothing and thick furs.  Cold, wet ground meant that even two sets of boots were not necessarily enough after several days.  The frozen mist would often obscure everything except for the path immediately in front, hiding the peaks and making the sky a uniform white. In many places, the path would be blocked by rock, ice, or snow—the remnants of an avalanche, which could easily take an unsuspecting traveler.  And there was the elevation.  Hiking through the mountains, it was easy enough to reach heights of a mile or higher, and for those not accustomed to that elevation the thin air could take a surprising toll, especially if you were pushing yourself.  And the road was no less kind to the animals that would be hauling said travelers and their gear. And yet, this was the path that Xuanzang had agreed to.  He would continue to push through, despite the various deprivations that he would be subjected to.  No doubt he often wondered if it was worth it.  Then again, returning was just as dangerous a trip, so why not push on?   Last episode we introduced the monk Xuanzang, who traveled the Silk Road to India in the 7th century and returned to China.  He brought back numerous sutras to translate, and ended up founding a new school, known as the Faxian school—or the Hossou school in Japan.   As we mentioned last time, Xuanzang during his lifetime met with students from the archipelago when they visited the continent.  The records of his travels—including his biography and travelogue—are some of the best information we have on what life was like on the silk road around this time. In the last episode, we talked about Xuanzang: how he set out on his travels, his illegal departure from the Tang empire, and his perilous journey across the desert, ending up in Gaochang.  There, King Qu Wentai had tried to get him to stay, but he was determined to head out.  This episode we are going to cover his trip to Agni, Kucha, and Baluka—modern Aksu—and up to the Western Gokturk Qaghanate's capital of Suyab.  From there, we'll follow his footsteps through the Turkic controlled regions of Transoxania and into Tukhara, in modern Afghanistan.  Finally, we'll cover the last parts of his journey before he reached the start of his goal:  India. From Gaochang, Xuanzang continued on, through the towns he names as Wuban and Dujin, and into the country of Agni—known today as the area of Yanqi—which may also have been known as Wuqi.  The route was well-enough known, but it wasn't necessarily safe.  At one point, Xuanzang's caravan met with bandits, whom they were fortunately able to pay off.  The following night they encamped on a river bank with some merchants who also happened to be traveling the road.  The merchants, though, got up at midnight and headed out, hoping to get to the city early so that they could be the first ones to the market.  They only made it a few miles down the road, however, before they encountered more bandits, who slaughtered them and took their goods.  The following day, Xuanzang and his retinue came upon the merchants' remains lying in the road and saw the aftermath of the massacre. This was an unforgiving land, and the road was truly dangerous, even for those who traveled it regularly.  And yet Xuanzang was planning to travel its entire length until he reached India. So with little alternative, they carried on to the royal city of Agni. Agni, or Yanqi, sits on the southwestern edge of the basin, west of Bositeng lake, on the border between the Turfan basin and the larger Tarim Basin.  The name is thought to be a Tocharian—or Turfanian—name for the city, which is also known as Karashr. According to the biography by Huili, Xuanzang and his party didn't stay long in Agni.  Apparently Agni and Gaochang were not exactly on friendly terms, and even though the King of Agni and his ministers reportedly came out to greet Xuanzang and welcome him to their city, they refused to provide any horses.  They spent a single night and moved on. That said, Agni still made an impression on Xuanzang.  He noted how the capital was surrounded by hills on four sides, making it naturally defensible.  As for the people, he praises them as honest and straightforward.  They wore clothing of felt and hemp cloth, and cut their hair short, without hats or any kind of headwear.  Even the climate was pleasant, at least for the short time he was there.  He also notes that they used a script based on India—likely referring to the Brahmic script, which we find in the Tarim basin. However, as for the local lord, the King of Agni, he is a little less charitable.  Xuanzang claimed he was brave but “lacked resourcefulness” and he was a bit of a braggart.  Furthermore, the country had “no guiding principles or discipline and government orders are imperfect and not seriously implemented.”  He also mentioned the state of Buddhism in the country, noting that they were followers of Sarvastivada school, a Theravada sect popular along the Silk Road at the time.  Xuanzang was apparently not too pleased with the fact that they were not strict vegetarians, including the “three kinds of pure meat”.  From Agni, Xuanzang continued southwest, heading for the kingdom of Kucha.  He seems to have bypassed the nearby kingdom of Korla, south of Agni, and headed some 60 or 70 miles, climbing over a ridge and crossing two large rivers, and then proceeding another 200 miles or so to the land of Kucha. Kucha was a kingdom with over one hundred monasteries and five thousand monks following a form of Theravada Buddhism.  Here, Xuanzang was welcomed in by the king, Suvarnadeva, described as having red hair and blue eyes.  While Xuanzang was staying in Kucha, it is suspected that he probably visited the nearby Kizil grotto and the Buddhist caves, there, which include a painting of King Suvarnadeva's father, King Suvarnapuspa, and his three sons. You can still visit Kucha and the Kizil grottos today, although getting there is quite a trek, to be sure.  The ancient Kuchean capital is mostly ruins, but in the Kizil caves, protected from the outside elements, you can find vivid paintings ranging from roughly the 4th to the 8th century, when the site was abandoned.  Hundreds of caves were painted, and many still demonstrate vibrant colors.  The arid conditions protect them from mold and mildew, while the cave itself reduces the natural bleaching effect of sunlight.  The paintings are in numerous styles, and were commissioned by various individuals and groups over the years.  They also give us some inkling of how vibrant the city and similar structures must have been, back when the Kuchean kingdom was in its heyday. The people of Kucha are still something of a mystery.  We know that at least some of them spoke an Indo-European language, related to a language found in Agni, and both of these languages are often called Tocharian, which we discussed last episode.  Xuanzang himself noted that they used Indian writing, possibly referring to the Brahmi script, or perhaps the fact that they seem to have used Sanskrit for official purposes, such as the inscription on the cave painting at Kizil giving the name of King Suvarnapuspa.  The Kucheans also were clothed in ornamental garments of silk and embroidery.  They kept their hair cut, wearing a flowing covering over their heads—and we see some of that in the paintings. Xuanzang also notes that though we may think of this area as a desert, it was a place where rice and grains, as well as fruit like grapes, pomegranates, plums, pears, peaches, and almonds were grown.  Even today, modern Xinjiang grows some absolutely fantastic fruit, including grapes, which are often dried into raisins. Another point of interest for Xuanzang may have been that Kucha is known as the hometown of none other than Kumarajiva.  We first mentioned Kumarajiva back in episode 84.  Kumarajiva was one of the first people we know of who translated many of the sutras from India that were then more widely disseminated throughout the Yellow River and Yangzi river basins.  His father was from India and his mother was a Kuchean princess.  In the middle of the 4th century, when he was still quite young, he traveled to India and back with his mother on a Buddhist pilgrimage.  Later he would start a massive translation project in Chang'an.  His translations are credited with revolutionizing Chinese Buddhism. Xuanzang was initially welcomed by the king, his ministers, and the revered monk, Moksagupta.  They were accompanied by several thousand monks who set up tents outside the eastern gate, with portable Buddha images, which they worshipped, and then Xuanzang was taken to monastery after monastery until sunset.  At one of the monasteries, in the southeast of the city, there were several tens of monks who originally came from Gaochang, and since Xuanzang had come from there, they invited him to stay with them. The next day he met and feasted with the King, politely declining any meat, and then went to the monastery in the northwest to meet with the famous monk: Moksagupta.  Moksagupta himself had made the journey to India, and had spent 20 years there himself.  It seems like this would have been the perfect person for Xuanzang to talk to about his plans, but instead, the two butted heads.  Moksagupta seems to have seen Xuanzang's Mahayana faith as heretical.  He saw no reason for Xuanzang to travel all the way to India when he had all the sutras that anyone needed there in Kucha, along with Moksagupta himself.   Xuanzang's response seems to have been the Tang dynasty Buddhist version of “Okay, Boomer”, and then he went ahead and tore apart Moksagupta's understanding of his own sutras—or so Xuanzang relayed to his biographers.  We don't exactly have Moksagupta's side, and, let's face it, Xuanzang and his biographers are not necessarily reliable narrators.  After all, they followed Mahayana teachings, which they considered the “Greater Vehicle”, and they referred to the Theravada teachings as the “Hinayana” or “Lesser Vehicle”.  Meanwhile, Theravada Buddhists likely saw many of the Mahayana texts as extraneous, even heretical, not believing them to actually be the teachings of the Buddha. It must have been winter time, as the passes through the mountains on the road ahead were still closed, and so Xuanzang stayed in Kucha, spending his time sightseeing and meeting with various people.  He even went back to see Moksagupta, but the older monk shunned him, and would get up and exit the room rather than engaging with him, so they had no more conversations. Eventually, Xuanzang continued on his way west, following along the northern rim of the Tarim basin.  Two days out from Kucha, disaster struck.  Some two thousand or so Turkish bandits suddenly appeared—I doubt Xuanzang was counting, so it may have been more or less.  I imagine that memories of what had happened to the merchants near Agni must have gone through Xuanzang's mind.   Fortunately, for him, they were fighting over loot that they had pillaged from various travelers, and since they couldn't share it equally, they fell to fighting each other and eventually dispersed. He travelled for almost 200 miles after that, stopping only for a night at the Kingdom of Baluka, aka Gumo—the modern city of Aksu.  This was another Theravada Buddhist kingdom.  Xuanzang noted tens of Buddhist temples, and over 1000 Buddhist monks.  The country was not large—about 200 miles east to west and 100 miles north to south.  For reference that means it was probably comparable in size with Kyushu, in terms of overall area, or maybe the size of Denmark—excluding Greenland—or maybe the US state of Maryland.  Xuanzang described the country as similar to Kucha in just about every way, including the written language and law, but the spoken language was different, though we don't get many more details. From Baluka, he crossed northward through the Tianshan mountains, which are classified as an extension of the Pamirs known as the Ice Mountains.  Had he continued southwest, he would have hit Kashgar and crossed over between the Pamir and Tian Shan ranges into the Ferghana valley, but instead he turned north. We don't know exactly why he took this perilous option, but the route that may have been popular at the time as it was one of the most direct routes to the seat of the Western Gokturk Empire, which he was currently traveling through. The Tian Shan mountains were a dangerous journey.  Avalanches could block the road—or worse.  Xuanzang describes the permanent ice fields—indeed, it is the ice fields and glaciers of the Tian Shan that melt in the summer and provide the oasis towns of the Tarim Basin with water, even to this day.  In Xuanzang's day, those glaciers were likely even more prevalent than today, especially as they have been recorded as rapidly disappearing since 1961.  And where you weren't on snow and ice, the ground was probably wet and damp from the melt.  To keep warm, you would wear shoes over your shoes, along with heavy fur coats, all designed to reduce exposure. Xuanzang claims that 3 or 4 of every 10 people didn't survive the crossing—and that horses and oxen fared even worse.  Even if these numbers are an exaggeration, the message is clear:  This was a dangerous journey. After about seven days, Xuanzang came out of the mountains to the “Great Pure Lake”, the “Da Qing Hai”, also known as the Hot Sea or the Salt Sea, which likely refers to Issyk Kul.  The salt content, along with the great volume of water it possesses, means that the lake rarely freezes over, which is likely why it is seen as “hot” since it doesn't freeze when the fresh water nearby does.  This lake is the second largest mountain lake in the world, and the second deepest saltwater lake.  Traveling past the lake, he continued to Suyab, near modern Tokmok, in Kyrgyzstan, just west of the modern capital of Bishkek.  This was an old Sogdian settlement, and had since become the capital of the Western Gokturks.  Sogdians—like Xuanzang's guide, Vandak—were integral to the Gokturk kingdom. Their language was the lingua franca of the Silk Road, and at the time of the Gokturk Khaganate, it was also the official court language, and so when Xuanzang appeared at the court of the Great Khagan of the Western Gokturks, it was likely the language of diplomacy. When we think of Turkic people, many in the English speaking world think of Turkiye, and perhaps of the mighty Ottoman empire.  Some may think of Turkmenistan, Kazhakstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan, among others.  And of course, there are the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.  All of these people claim roots in the ancestral Turkic homeland in the Altai mountains, which sit largely in western Mongolia, north of China's Xinjiang region.  Much like the Xiongnu and the Mongols, they were pastoral nomads, moving their herds across the steppes, often covering great distances.  They would regularly move through different regions, perhaps returning each season, though sometimes not returning for years at a time.  They were often seen as barbarians by settled people living in cities, and yet their goods and horses were highly prized. Nomad and sedentary lifestyles would often collide.  Farmers would turn pastureland into fields, and when the nomadic people returned on their circuits, they would find walls and fences where there was once open land, and the people there would claim to “own” the land, a concept often foreign to people who were always on the move.  Nomadic people, such as the Gokturks, were not necessarily keeping vast libraries of records about themselves and their histories, and so much of what we get comes from external sources, which do not always have incredibly reliable narrators.  To many of the settled agriculturalists, groups like the Turks were marauders who raided their villages and farms.  They were a great bogeyman of the steppes, which required the firm hand of strong defenses to keep out—or so their opponents would want people to think. While they were known for their warfare, which incorporated their mobility, but they were keenly interested in trade, as well.  They understood the value of the trade routes and the various cities and states that they included in their empire.  Thus, the Sogdians and the Gokturks seem a natural fit: the Sogdians were more settled, but not entirely so, as demonstrated by their vast trade networks.  And the Sogdians also were part of the greater central Eurasian steppe culture, so the two cultures understood each other, to a degree.  They are even depicted similarly in art, with slight differences, such as long hair that was often associated with Turks over the Sogdians.  In some areas of the Gokturk empire, Sogdians would run the cities, while the Gokturks provided military aid and protection. Xuanzang's description of the people of Suyab, or the “City of Suye River”, doesn't pick out anyone in particular, and he even says that it was a place where traders of the Hu, or foreign, tribes from different countries mingle their abodes.  He mentions the people here as being called Suli, which is also the name given to the language—this may refer to “Sogdian” in general.  They write with an alphabet that is written vertically rather than horizontally—this may refer to a few scripts that were written this way, possibly based off Syriac or Aramaic alphabets that were adapted to Sogdian and other Iranian languages, but it isn't clear. We are told that the people dressed in felt and hemp clothing, with fur and “cotton” garments.  Their clothes fit tightly, and they kept their hair cut short, exposing the top of their heads—though sometimes they shaved it completely, tying a colored silk band around the forehead. He goes on to describe these people as greedy liars, possibly a reference to the mercantile nature of many of the people at the time. Something to note: The Turks of this time had not yet encountered Islam, which was just now starting to rise up in the Middle East.  The Prophet Muhammad is said to have been born around the end of the 6th century CE and was preaching in the early 7th century, though his teachings would begin to spread outward soon enough.  But that means that the Gokturks were not an Islamic empire.  Rather, their own traditions seem to have focused on the worship of Tengri, an Altaic personification of the universe, often simplified as a “sky god”.  Tengrism can be found amongst the Xiongnu, Mongols, and others, and it was the national religion of the Gokturks themselves, but there were many who also adopted other religions that they encountered, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Buddhism.  In fact, Xuanzang notes that the Turks he met in Suyab would not sleep or sit on beds made of wood because wood was thought to contain the spirit of fire, which he says they worshipped.  That sounds similar to Zoroastrian beliefs, where fire is associated with Ahura Mazda, who is also worshipped as a sky god.  These may have been beliefs inherited from their Eastern Iranian Sogdian partners. In Xuanzang's biography, we are given more details about his visit to Suyab.  Apparently, as he was headed to the city, he met a hunting party, which we are told was the retinue of Yehu Khan.  Hunting was an important part of life on the steppes, and it continued to be a favorite sport of the Gokturk nobility. Yehu Khan—possibly Yagbhu Khan, though that is up for some debate—is described as being dressed in a green silk robe, with his hair exposed, and wearing  a turban of white silk about ten feet long that wrapped his forehead and hung behind his back.  His “hunting” expedition wasn't just a couple of the guys.  It included about 200 officials, all with plaited hair and dressed in brocade robes—they weren't exactly out there roughing it.  He also had his soldiers, dressed in furs, felt, or fine woolen clothes, and there were so many cavalry that they stretched out of sight.  The Khan seemed pleased to meet Xuanzang, but his hunt was expected to last another couple of days, at least, so he sent an attendant named Dharmaja to take Xuanzang back to wait for the Khan to return. Three days later, Xuanzang was given an audience.  The khan was seated in a large yurt.  Xuanzang noted the seeming incongruity between the khan, sitting there in the tent, decorated with golden flowers, with the officials dressed in magnificent brocade garments sitting in two long rows in front of him and the armed guards behind him, compared to the simple felt walls of the tent. A ”yurt” is a common feature of nomadic life on the steppes.  It wasn't exactly a single person operation to haul them around, but they can be taken down and put up with relative ease.  And while yurts could be relatively simple, there are examples of much more elaborate structures.  There is little reason they couldn't be made larger, perhaps with some extra support.  In later centuries, there are examples of giant yurts that seem like real construction projects.  Use of tents, even in a city, where they had permanent palace buildings, was likely a means of retaining the nomadic steppe traditions, even while enjoying the benefits of city life. Whom exactly Xuanzang met with is a matter of debate.  His records seem to indicate that it was Tong Yabghu Qaghan of the Western Gokturk Khaganate, but other sources say that Tong Yabghu Qaghan died in 628, and the earliest Xuanzang could have been meeting with him was 630, two years later, so if that is the case, he must have met with Tong Yabghu's son, Si Yabghu Qaghan.  It is likely that Xuanzang, who was dictating his accounts years after, mentioned the Qaghan and then, when they looked up who it was, they simply made a mistake.  Remember, Xuanzang would have had everything translated through one or two languages.  He did know what he saw, however, and he recounted what he remembered. Tong Yabghu Qaghan oversaw the height of the Gokturk Qaghanate, and appears to have favored the Buddhist religion, though there were many different religions active in their territories at the time.  They oversaw an extremely cosmopolitan empire covering huge swaths of central Eurasia, including the lucrative silk road.  Xuanzang notes that at the court there were individuals from Gaochang and even a messenger from the Han—which is to say the Tang Empire.  One wonders if Xuanzang—or anyone at that time—realized just how tenuous the Khan'sposition was.  After Tong Yabghu's death, the Qaghanate would decline, and less than a decade later it would fall to the Tang dynasty, who took Suyab and made it their western outpost.  In fact, Suyab is thought to have been the birthplace, over a century later, of a young boy who would find a love of poetry.  That boy's name was Li Bai, or Ri Haku, in Japanese. He would become one of the most famous poets in Chinese history, and his poems were even known and studied in Japan.  And it was largely through Japanese study of Li Bai's poems that his works came to the English speaking world: first through Ernest Fenollosa, who had studied in Japan, and then by the celebrated Ezra Pound, who had used Ernest's notes to help with his own translations of the poems. This was, though, as I said, over a century after Xuanzang's journey.  At the time of our story, the Qaghan was throwing a feast, including Xuanzang and all of the foreign envoys.  Xuanzang comments on the food and drink—his hosts provided grape juice in lieu of wine, and cooked a special vegetarian feast just for him, while the other guests ate a feast of meat, such as veal, lamb, fish, and the like.  There was also the music of various regions along the Silk Road, which Xuanzang found to be catchy, but of course not as refined as the music he was used to, of course.  After dinner Xuanzang was asked to expound upon the Darma, largely about the basic principle that you should be kind to one another—I doubt he was getting into the deep mysteries of Buddhist philosophy. Xuanzang stuck around the court for three more days, during which time the Qaghan tried to get him to stay, but Xuanzang insisted that he had to make it to India.  And so the Qaghan relented.  He found men in his army who could translate for Xuanzang along his journey, and had letters of introduction written to at least as far as the state of Kapisa, in modern Afghanistan. And so, armed with the Qaghan's blessing and a fresh translator, Xuanzang struck out again.  They headed westward for over one hundred miles, eventually reaching Bingyul, aka the Thousand Springs.  This is the area where the Qaghan and his court would spend his summers, and the deer in the area were protected under his orders, so that they were not afraid of humans—which sounds similar to the situation with the deer in Nara.  Continuing on another fifty miles or so—the distances are approximate as Xuanzang's primary duty was not exactly to map all of this out—Xuanzang arrived at the city of Taras, in modern Kazakhstan, another place where the cultures of the Silk Road mixed and mingled.  Xuanzang didn't have much to say about Taraz, apparently, though it is one of the oldest cities in Transoxania, founded near the beginning of the Common Era.  A few miles south of there, Xuanzang reportedly found a village of re-settled ethnic Han that had been captured by the Gokturks and settled here.  They had adopted the dress and customs of the Turkic people, but continued to speak a version of Chinese. Southwest of that he reached the City of White Water, likely referring to Aksukent.  This is the same “Aksu” as the city in Xinjiang, both of which mean “White Water” in Turkic, but this one is in the south of Kazakhstan.  Xuanzang found the climate and products an improvement over what he had experienced in Taras.  Beyond that, he next arrived at the city of Gongyu, and then south again to Nujkend, and then traveling westward to the country of Chach, aka Tashkent.  Both Nujkend and Chach were large cities in nations of smaller, mostly autonomous city-states, which made up a lot of the political geography of Transoxania. I would note that Xuanzang's notes here are much more sparse than previously.  This may be because these were outside of the Tarim basin and therefore of less interest to individuals in the Tang empire.  Or perhaps he was just making his way more quickly and not stopping at every kingdom along the way. From Tashkent, he continued southeast to the Ferghana valley—the country of Feihan.  Oddly, this country doesn't appear in Xuanzang's biography, even though the Ferghana Valley seems to have been fairly well known back in the Tang Empire—it was known as the home of some of the best horses, which were one of its first major exports.  In fact, the Han dynasty even mounted a military expedition to travel to Ferghana just to obtain horses.  Xuanzang is oddly silent on this; however, he does talk about the fertile nature of the land.  He mentions that their language here is different from the lands he had been traveling through up to this point, and also points out that the people of the Ferghana valley were also visibly different from others in the area. From the Ferghana valley, Xuanzang headed west for about 300 miles or more to the land of Sutrushana—perhaps referring to the area of Ushrusana, with its capital of Bunjikat.  This country was also largely Sogdian, and described as similar to Tashkent.  From there, he traveled west through a great desert, passing skeletons, which were the only marker of the trail other than a view of the far off mountains.  Finally, they reached Samarkand, known as the country of “Kang” in Chinese, which was also the term used to mark Sogdians who claimed descent from the people of Samarkand. Samarkand is another of the ancient cities of Central Asia, and even today is the third largest city in modern Uzbekistan.  Human activity in the region goes back to the paleolithic era, and the city was probably founded between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE.  Samarkand was conquered by Alexander the Great, and during the Achaemenid Empire it was the capital of Sogdiana.  During Xuanzang's visit, Samarkand was described as an impenetrable fortress with a large population. For all of his travel, Samarkand was the first place Xuanzang notes as specifically not a Buddhist land.  In fact, there were two monasteries, suggesting that there had been Buddhists, but if any monks tried to stay there then the locals would chase them out with fire.  Instead, they worshipped fire—likely meaning Ahura Mazda and Zoroastrianism.  This leads to a story that I have to wonder about, given the reliability of our narrators. It is said that Xuanzang was met by the King with arrogance, but after staying the night Xuanzang was able to tell the King about Buddhism and its merits.  The king was intrigued, and asked to observe the Precepts, and treated Xuanzang with hospitality and respect.  So when two of Xuanzang's attendants went to the monasteries to worship, they were chased out with fire.  When the king heard about this, he had the people arrested and ordered their hands to be cut off.  Xuanzang could not bear to witness such suffering, however, and he intervened to have them spared.  So instead the king had them flogged and banished from the city.  Ever since then, all the people believed in Buddhism. Some parts of this strike true.  It was likely that the king would entertain this strange wanderer who had arrived with letters from the great Qaghan—that may have even explained why Xuanzang had been encouraged to make the dangerous journey to Suyab in the first place, so that he could obtain such permission.  And it would not be strange for the king to listen to his teachings.  If Xuanzang's attendants were attacked, that would have been a huge breach of hospitality, and however the King felt about it, he no doubt had to do something about it.  And so all of that sounds somewhat believable.  Does that mean everyone suddenly converted to Buddhism?  I don't know that I'm quite willing to go that far.  It is also likely that there were Buddhists there already, even if the majority religion was Zoroastrianism. From Samarkand, Xuanzang traveled farther southwest, to the country of Kasanna, which seems to have been the edge of what we might call Sogdiana.   According to his biographers, however, there was a little more to all of this.  Rather, he headed west to Kusanika.  Then he traveled to  Khargan, and further on to the country of Bukhara, and then to Vadi.  All of these were “An” in Chinese, which was the name element used for Sogdians from this region.  He then continued west to the country of Horismika, on the other side of the Amu Darya, aka the Oxus River of Transoxanian fame. From there he traveled further southwest, entering into the mountains.  The path here was often such that they had to travel single-file, and there was no food or water other than what you brought with you.  Eventually they came to a set of doors, known as the Iron Gate.  This was a Turkic fortress.  It was no doubt fortuitous that he had come from his meeting with the Qaghan, and likely had permission to pass through.  From there, they entered the country of Tukhara. As we noted in Episode 119, Tukhara was in the region of Bactria.  It was bordered by the Pamir range in the east, and the Persian empire in the west.  There were also the Great Snow Mountains in the south, likely referencing the Hindu Kush. Tukhara had been conquered by the Gokturks just within the past couple of decades, and Xuanzang notes that the country had been split into largely autonomous city-states as the local royalty had died without an heir many years before.  With the Gokturk conquest, it was now administered by Tardu Shad, the son of Tong Yabghu Qaghan.  “Shad” in this case was a local title. Here, Xuanzang's narrative gets a little dicey, especially between his biography and his records.  The records of the Western Regions denotes various countries in this area.  It is unclear if he traveled to all of them or is just recounting them from records he obtained.  He does give us at least an overview of the people and the region.  I would also note that this is one of the regions he visited, again, on his return trip, and so may have been more familiar with the region than those areas he had passed through from Suyab on down. For one thing, he notes that the language of the region was different from that of the “Suli”, which appears to refer to the Sogdians.  This was the old territory of the Kushan empire, and they largely spoke Bactrian.  Like Sogdian, it was another Eastern Iranian language, and they used an alphabet based largely on Greek, and written horizontally rather than vertically.  They also had their own coins. This region had plenty of Buddhist communities, and Xuanzang describes the cities and how many monasteries they had, though, again, it isn't clear if he actually visited all of them or not.  These are countries that Li Rongji translates as “Tirmidh”, “Sahaaniyan”, “Kharuun”, “Shuumaan”, etc. It does seem that Xuanzang made it to the capital city, the modern city Kunduz, Afghanistan. Xuanzang actually had something specific for the local Gokturk ruler, Tardu Shad.  Tardu Shad's wife was the younger sister of King Qu Wentai of Gaochang, whom we met last episode.  Qu Wentai had provided Xuanzang a letter for his younger sister and her husband.  Unfortunately, Xuanzang arrived to learn that the princess of Gaochang had passed away, and Tardu Shad's health was failing.  It does seem that Tardu Shad was aware of Xuanzang, however—a letter had already come from Qu Wentai to let them know that Xuanzang was on his way.  As I mentioned last episode, letters were an important part of how communities stayed tied together.  Of course, given the perils of the road, one assumes that multiple letters likely had to be sent just in case they didn't make it.  The US Postal Service this was not. Tardu Shad, though not feeling well, granted an interview with Xuanzang.  He suggested that Xuanzang should stick around.  Then, once the Shad had recovered from his illness, he would accompany Xuanzang personally on his trip to India.  Unfortunately, that was not to be.  While Xuanzang was staying there, he was witness to deadly drama.  Tardu Shad was recovering, which was attributed to the recitations by an Indian monk who was also there.  This outcome was not exactly what some in the court had wanted.  One of the Shad's own sons, known as the Tagin prince, plotted with the Shad's current wife, the young Khatun, and she poisoned her husband.  With the Shad dead, the throne might have gone to the son of the Gaochang princess, but he was still too young.  As such, the Tagin Prince was able to usurp the throne himself, and he married his stepmother, the young Khatun.  The funeral services for the late Tardu Shad meant that Xuanzang was obliged to stay at Ghor for over a month. During that time, Xuanzang had a seemingly pleasant interaction with an Indian monk.  And when he finally got ready to go, he asked the new Shad for a guide and horses.  He agreed, but also made the suggestion that Xuanzang should then head to Balkh.  This may have meant a bit of backtracking, but the Shad suggested that it would be worth it, as Balkh had a flourishing Buddhist community. Fortunately, there was a group of Buddhist monks from Balkh who happened to be in Kunduz to express their condolences at the passing of Tardu Shad, and they agreed to accompany Xuanzang back to their hometown, lest he end up getting lost and taking the long way there. The city of Balkh is also known as “Baktra”, as in “Bactria”, another name of this region.  A settlement has been there since at least 500 BCE , and it was already an important city when it was captured by Alexander the Great.  It sits at the confluence of several major trade routes, which no doubt were a big part of its success.  Xuanzang's biography notes that it was a massive city, though it was relatively sparsely populated—probably due to the relatively recent conquest by the Gokturks, which had occurred in the last couple of decades.  That said, there were still thousands of monks residing at a hundred monasteries in and around the city.  They are all characterized as monks of Theravada schools.  Southwest of the city was a monastery known as Navasamgharama, aka Nava Vihara, or “New Monastery”.  Despite its name, the monastery may have actually been much older, going back to the Kushan emperor Kaniska, in the 2nd century CE.  Ruins identified as this “New Monastery” are still visible south of Balkh, today. The monastery is described as being beautifully decorated, and it seems that it had a relic—one of the Buddha's teeth.  There are also various utensils that the Buddha is said to have used, as well.  The objects would be displayed on festival days.  North of the monastery there was a stupa more than 200 feet in height.  South of the monastery was a hermitage.  Each monk who studied there and passed away would have a stupa erected for them, as well.  Xuanzang notes that there were at around 700 memorial stupas, such that they had to be crammed together, base to base. It was here that Xuanzang met a young monk named Prajnaakara, who was already somewhat famous in India, and well-studied.  When questioned about certain aspects of Buddhism, Xuanzang was impressed by the monk's answers, and so stayed there a month studying with the young monk. Eventually, Xuanzang was ready to continue on his journey.  He departed Balkh towards the south, accompanying the teacher Prajnakara, and together they entered the Great Snow Mountains, aka the Hindu Kush.  This path was even more dangerous than the trip through the Tian Shan mountains to Suyab.   They eventually left the territory of Tukhara and arrived at Bamiyan.  Bamiyan was a kingdom in the Hindu Kush, themselves an extension of the Himalayan Mountain range.  It Is largely based around valley, home to the modern city of Bamyan, Afghanistan, which sits along the divide between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.  Today it is a major center for individuals of the Hazara ethnic group, one of the main ethnic groups in Afghanistan, which is a multi-ethnic state that includes, today, the Pashtun, Hazara, Tajik, and Uzbek people, along with a number of smaller ethnic groups.  Today they largely reside in the mountainous areas of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan made an impact on our protagonist.   Their language was slightly different from that in Tukhara, but using the same—or similar enough—writing system.  Buddhism was thriving in the capital, and we are told of a rock statue of the standing Buddha, over a hundred feet in height, along with a copper statue of the standing Buddha nearby.    There was also another reclining Buddha a mile or two down the road.  There were multiple monasteries with thousands of monks, and the ruler of that kingdom received Xuanzang well. Xuanzang wasn't the first monk to travel to Bamiyan from the Middle Kingdom—in this he was, perhaps unwittingly, on the trail of the monk Faxian.  Faxian likely did not see these statues, though, as we believe they were built in the 6th and early 7th century—at least the stone Buddha statues.  They were a famous worship site until February 2001, when the Taliban gave an order to destroy all of the statues in Afghanistan.  Despite this, they were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Fortunately, we have images from before their destruction.  These statues were a blend of Greco-Buddhist and Gandharan art styles—appropriate as it stands between the Hellenistic area of Tukhara and the ancient region of Gandhara—including the modern city of Kandahar and into the Indus Valley region of Pakistan. Continuing east through the mountains, Xuanzang eventually came out at the kingdom of Kapisa.  This may have had its capital around modern-day Bagram, north of modern Kabul, but the country seems to have been quite large.  Kapisa over saw some tens of other countries, and it is thought that at one time its influence extended from Bamyan and Kandahar to the area of modern Jalalabad.  Their language was even more different than that of Tukhara, but they were still using the same writing system.  The king of Kapisa is said to have been of Suli ethnicity—which would seem to indicate that he was Sogdian, or at least descended from people of the Transoxanian region.    Xuanzang notes that the ruler, as rough and fiery as he is described—as a true warlord or similar—he nonetheless made a silver image of the Buddha, eighteen feet in height, every year.  He also gave charity to the poor and needy in an assembly that was called every five years.  There were over one hundred monasteries and some 6000 monks, per Xuanzang's recollection, and notably, they were largely following Mahayana teachings. For the most part the monks that Xuanzang had encountered on this journey were Theravada—Xuanzang refers to them as “Hinayana”, referring to the “Lesser Vehicle” in contrast to Xuanzang's own “Mahayana”, or “Greater Vehicle”.  “Theravada” refers to the “way of the elders” and while Mahayana Buddhism largely accepts the sutras of Theravada Buddhism, there are many Mahayana texts that Theravada Buddhists do not believe are canonical.  We discussed this back in Episode 84. There was apparently a story of another individual from the Yellow River being sent as a hostage to Kapisa when it was part of the Kushan Empire, under Kanishka or similar.  Xuanzang recounts various places that the hostage, described as a prince, lived or visited while in the region.  Xuanzang's arrival likely stirred the imagination of people who likely knew that the Tang were out there, but it was such a seemingly impossible distance for most people.  And yet here was someone who had traveled across all of that distance.  One of the monasteries that claimed to have been founded because of that ancient Han prince invited Xuanzang to stay with them.  Although it was a Theravada monastery, Xuanzang took them up on the offer, both because of the connection to someone who may have been his countryman, but also because of his traveling companion, Prajnakara, who was also a Theravada monk, and may not be comfortable staying at a Mahayana monastery. Xuanzang spends a good deal of ink on the stories of how various monasteries and other sites were founded in Kapisa and the surrounding areas.  He must have spent some time there to accumulate all of this information.  It is also one of the places where he seems to have hit at least twice—once on the way to India, and once during his return journey. The King of Kapisa is said to have been a devotee of Mahayana Buddhism.  He invited Xuanzang and Prajnakara to come to a Mahayana monastery to hold a Dharma gathering.  There they met with several leading figures in the monastery, and they discussed different theories.  This gathering lasted five days, and at the end, the king offered Xuanzang and the other monks five bolts of pure brocade and various other gifts.  Soon thereafter, the monk Prajnakara was invited back to Tukhara, and so he and Xuanzang parted ways. And it was about time for Xuanzang to continue onwards as well.  From Kapisa, he would travel across the “Black Range” and into Lampaka.  This may refer to the area of Laghman or Jalalabad.  Today, this is in modern Afghanistan, but for Xuanzang, this would have been the northwestern edge of India.  He was almost there. And so are we, but we'll save his trip into India for next episode. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

In today's podcast I talk about: shifting to Diplomat Residency from Bamyan. Feeling the positivity around. Expo vist. Meeting my long time dear friend Dhiraj Sandhir. Using Delhi metro for the first time.

In his riveting feature documentary CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY director Ben Sturgulewski peels back the social, religious and community layers in the remote mountain villages of Bamyan, Afghanistan, to find what has created the newfound passion for skiing. This passion has attracted young athletes from rival ethnic groups who showcase their resourcefulness and skill on the slopes. Equipped with minimal gear, makeshift skis, and no chairlift, the determined ski coach Alishah Farhang organizes a ski race that unities the community in a moment of joy and camaraderie. However, when their country falls to the Taliban, many of the skiers are displaced across the globe as refugees, confronted with an uncertain future. In CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski masterfully captures the thrill of a sports rivalry intertwined with the poignant narrative of a community grappling with profound change – revealing what it means to be a champion, in all its forms. Director, editor and cinematographer Ben Sturgulewski joins us to talk about his own long journey, figuratively and literally, to tell this amazing story of community, loss, rivalry, friendship, and how striving to be better can not only lift up an individual, like Alishah Farhang, Alishah Farhang, Mujtaba Hussaini, Raees Hussaini, Haji Hussaini, Mortiza Motahari and Hussain Ali Nazari, but those around them. For more go to: championsofthegoldenvalley.com

Dans ce podcast, Kath-Marie, joaillière et géobiologue, créatrice de Merveilles poétiques à découvrir sur son insta: https://www.instagram.com/ka.paris.jewelry/  nous parle  de sa vie, de son passé de photographe, reporter, d'Haïti dont elle est tombée amoureuse et où elle a passé 12  ans de sa vie à photographier le pays et ses habitants le coeur en émotion ; de l'hôpital Robert Debré  où la direction lui donne une première fois carte blanche  pour filmer et mettre en valeur le lien humain tissé à l'hôpital autour de l'enfant souffrant, de sa rencontre avec Prune prématurée extrême; puis une deuxième fois pour la réalisation d' un film documentaire et reportage  sur l'hôpital à la mer et la “Régate des Oursons “ qui dévoile avec grande tendresse et amour le voyage de ces enfants à pathologies lourdes qui partent vivre une course inoubliable et se ressourcer de belles émotions et souvenirs sur des bateaux équipés pour eux par leur skipper, encadrés de leurs soignants et de bénévoles… et bien d'autres choses encore... Une Kath-Marie Passionnante dont le récit nous permet de découvrir l'artiste humaniste qui se cache derrière cette belle femme douce et énergique qui ne manque ni d'audace ni d'humour… Une rencontre à écouter absolument. Pour découvrir et tomber sous le charme de ses KAs si vous êtes Parisiens, elle sera jusqu'au 18 Décembre 2023 , chez Bamyan 72 rue St Louis en l'île, tous les jours de 11h à 19h et le dimanche de 14h-18h. Beau voyage.

(00:00:46) L'Arménie pleure le Haut-Karabagh (00:09:29) Les ruches urbaines ont trop de succès (00:16:08) Le site de Bamyan en Afghanistan réservé aux hommes

This edition features stories on Afghan International Security Forces detaining suspected insurgents during searches for Taliban leaders in two provinces of Afghanistan and New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team and U.S. Soldiers working with the Afghan National Police in a combined effort to provide security and deter insurgency for a local village in Bamyan province, Afghanistan. Includes a soundbite from Army Cpl. Loretta Stalnaker, a military police officer. Hosted by Petty Officer 1st Class Dustin Diaz.

Package about on the tenth anniversary of the Taliban's destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas, it will be decided whether to go ahead and reconstruct the famous statues. The people of Bamyan, Afghanistan tell us what they want to happen to this symbol of their history and identity. Produced by Ruth Owen. With Voice Over.

Landing an aircraft is no easy feat. The airfield in Bamyan, Afghanistan makes safe landings a little more difficult. Marine Cpl. Kevin Beebe takes us through a course that helps pilots land on target. Sound bites from Capt. John Gruenke and Cpl. Aaron Oxenhem, Student, New Zealand Air Force. Available in high definition. Anchor: Senior Airman Chance Smith

Seventy business investors visited Bamyan in Afghanistan for a three-day conference where they discussed ways to bring tourism to the province renowned for its natural beauty and cultural heritage. Produced by Ruth Owen. This version includes voiceover and title graphics. Also available in high definition.

Comedian, traveler, and host of OOPS The Podcast, Giulio Gallarotti joins the Boardwalk Podcast to discuss a recent trip to Afghanistan more than a year after the Taliban have been in power. Giulio talks about traveling through Maidan Wardak, Bamyan, and Mazar-e Sharif. He's also helping fund a school. _________________________________________ Where to Listen:Apple: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkapple Spotify: https://bit.ly/theboardwalkspotify Pandora: https://bit.ly/3xZ8bk9 Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3gbZ6ya Amazon Music: https://amzn.to/37UuZXQ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/3AQNadj  iHeart Radio: https://bit.ly/3y0Vfdw TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2W1VEPN Buzzsprout: https://bit.ly/37PIdoy  Be sure to like, follow, subscribe, rate, review, and share wherever you listen to our podcast. New episodes of The Boardwalk are published every Saturday morning.  Our Social Media Sites:Instagram: @theboardwalkpodcast Facebook: @TheBoardwalkPodcastTwitter: @theboardwalkpod You can also reach us by email at: theboardwalkpodcast@gmail.com  Podcast Theme Song"KMAG YOYO"by Hayes Carllwww.hayescarll.comThe views expressed by the hosts and guests of this podcast do not represent the views of the United States Government or the United States Department of Defense. 

Gli attuali cambiamenti geopolitici mettono a repentaglio la vita dei più deboli, persone e cose. Fra questi i beni culturali sono oggetto di distruzione sistematica. Dalla distruzione dei Buddha di Bamyan in Afghanistan a quelle dell'Isis in Siria c'è un filo rosso che ha come tema conduttore la distruzione dell'identità dei popoli.Scritto e narrato da: Archeologo Luca Paolucci► Art & Crimes Podcast: https://www.radiocaffecriminale.it/programmi/art-crimes

durée : 00:03:37 - Unique en son genre - On est à Bamyan, au centre de l'Afghanistan, dans un bâtiment officiel, au beau milieu d'une réunion publique organisée par les talibans, quand soudain, des femmes font irruption dans la salle. Ce qu'elles veulent ? Que toutes les gamines du pays puissent retourner à l'école.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/03/15/hazara-world-tv-bamyan-villa-life/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/02/17/travel-to-bamyan-afghanistan-episode-3/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/01/31/travel-to-bamyan-afghanistan-episode-2/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/01/24/travel-to-bamyan-afghainistan-episode-1/

The president of the social-justice nonprofit Sojourners joins Rick to discuss places you can visit to better appreciate the life and civil-rights accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. Travel writer Tim Neville describes how a homegrown ski slope had brought a bit of joy — at least for a few years — to the young people of Bamyan, Afghanistan. And listeners share their favorite travel memories as they anticipate embarking on new adventures before too long. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Formalise It! Rights for All Workers How can we expand rights to all garment workers, no matter where they work – in factories or their own homes, or as refugees or migrants far from their country of origin?  In this episode: How workers from Myanmar fought for the pay they were owed, from a factory in Mae Sot, Thailand (Brahm Press, MAP Foundation) Some of the challenges faced by migrant workers in Thailand, and what support is needed (Reiko Harima, Mekong Migration Network) The story of Hussain, a refugee garment worker in Turkey How home-based workers – mostly working in the garment sector – have got organised over several decades, and some of their wins (Janhavi Deva, HomeNet International; Zehra Khan, Home Based Women Workers Federation; Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion) Building collaboration between home-based worker and other worker rights supporters (Marlese von Broembsen, WIEGO)  Please tell us what inspired you about this show, and share your feedback, comments and questions, by emailing: podcast@cleanclothes.org  Speakers: Brahm Press, MAP Foundation, Thailand Reiko Harima, Mekong Migration Network, Japan Hussain, Turkey Mariam Danishjo, Turkey Janhavi Deva, HomeNet International, India Zehra Khan, Home Based Women Workers Federation, Pakisan Poonsap Tulaphan, Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion Marlese von Broembsen, Women in Informal Employment Globalising and Organising  Host: Febriana Firdaus (febrianafirdaus.com)Field Reporters: Petra Ivsic and Aca VragolovicSound Engineering Support: Steve Adam (www.spectrosonics.com.au) Producer: Matthew Abud Clean Clothes Podcast Team: Anne Dekker, Johnson Ching-Yin Yeung, Liz Parker, Tanne de Goei Full Transcript HOST:Welcome to the show, in our second instalment of the Clean Clothes Podcast.  I'm Febriana Firdaus.  Today we're talking about rights for all workers – meaning migrant workers. Refugee workers. Home-based workers.  Workers who might not have all the right documents, or who might be hidden from view.  Sometimes governments and employers, don't see them as workers at all.  But they still demand their rights.  Mae Sot is in Thailand near the Myanmar border.  Refugees and migrant workers from Myanmar, have lived there for decades.  Now it has hundreds of garment factories that depend on migrant workers.  They're often underpaid to an extreme degree.  The Kanlayanee factory there made clothes for famous brands: Starbucks, Disney, NBC Universal, and Tesco. In 2019 the workers demanded their proper pay.  Brahm Press takes up the story. And just a note: Kanlayanee is the name of the factory, and the name of the factory owner as well.  BRAHM:My name's Brahm Press, the Director of MAP Foundation. MAP Foundation started in 1996, and one of the things we do is we have a process of developing peer leaders, and other migrant worker leaders, identify people who are potential leaders, give them training, and eventually even have passed some through paralegal training. So these workers are able to organise other workers, so that they can collectively bargain with employers for improved working conditions.  In 2019, we invited a reporter from Reuters to Mae Sot to look at the issue of underpayment of wages to migrant workers in factories, and found workers from the Kanlayanee factory. Everyone was being underpaid and there were massive labour rights violations going on. And this developed into a story mainly because these factories were producing for American brands.  Soon after that, the factory closed once Starbucks withdrew its order. So out of the 50 workers around half decided they wanted to take their case for redress, they wanted to make claims for unpaid back wages, unpaid overtime including working on days off and holidays. This group as it turns out, had also passed through some paralegal trainings that MAP had provided so they were very active and very aware of their rights.  Kanlayanee wanted to negotiate with the workers, and so she started negotiations at around half a million Baht, and there were a couple of rounds of negotiation but it was unsatisfactory. So that was around the time that we decided that maybe we should look at the brands. MAP, CCC and WRC, Worker Rights Consortium, worked together along with our community partner CBO, known as Arakan Workers Organisation. The factory owner actually put up pictures of all the workers who were part of the claims, and said do not hire these people, basically put out a blacklist and everywhere they went they found that they were not accepted even though they have obviously extensive experience in garment factories. A lot of them stayed together and they were sharing food which included foraging for like bamboo shoots and morning glory and other things that were just available in the jungle or on the roadside and then eat that with the rice. So it was difficult.  So finally in August or September the court ordered Kanlayanee to pay thirty per cent of the total, or around one point one million Baht. She was able to pay that pretty much right there and then, and so from that, we then turned around and asked the brands to simply pay a portion of the remainder divided between the four brands. Reuters was covering the situation and giving updates on who was paying and who was not, so again that media back-strategy was really helpful.  That left Universal as the last company not to pay any compensation. Three companies paid, including Starbucks. In order to pressure Universal, we decided to focus on their character the Minions from the Despicable Me cartoon, which I think was what was being produced there. And so there were videos and photos of workers dressed as Minions doing the same things to survive as the workers. It was rather cute and creative but at the same time very meaningful.  Later in February NBC approached us and Clean Clothes Campaign saying they would pay, kind of out of the blue. The workers are amazing because besides taking care of their debts and remitting back to their families, mostly they've also decided to use funds to help improve the workers' centre by the CBO that I mentioned, Arakan Workers Organisation, and that centre will help receive similar complaints, and they also put together funds to purchase dry foods to assist other workers in the area who are out of work due to COVID. So that's our story. HOST:That was Brahm Press from MAP Foundation.  The situation for migrant workers is often complicated.  It depends on labour law, but also migration laws. The details are different, in different countries.  Mae Sot is just one example. But it shows many common challenges.  Reiko Harima is Regional Coordinator at Mekong Migration Network, based in Japan. Their work includes Mae Sot and Thailand. REIKO:A lot of policies in relation to labour rights and migration have to a certain extent improved, or have been clarified. So for example migrant workers in garment industry are protected for their labour rights, they are entitled to minimum wage protection, they're entitled to overtime arrangement, and they're entitled to social security system enrolment, just as example. But in reality if the migrant workers complain when they're not receiving minimum wage, they would be, they would lose jobs, they would be blacklisted from the industry, they would not be able to find any other job, and so on. So this lack of enforcement of existing legislation, this has not been improved very much for the past decades.  One of the unfortunately common challenge for migrant women garment factory workers, is the lack of maternity protection. Again it's the issue of lack of enforcement of law, because in Thailand even if migrant women get pregnant they're entitled to maternity protection, they shouldn't be losing a job because of they're getting pregnant, they should be entitled to paid maternity leave, but in reality, most of the migrant women we have talked to are even thankful if they could keep jobs unpaid. Why are they not enforcing it, I think that comes from several reasons. One is that there is less pressure, especially in case of migrant women, because as you know in Thailand, migrant workers are not allowed to start the trade union of their own. They're allowed to join but they cannot start their own trade union. In border areas like Mae Sot where all the workers are migrant workers, how do you start the union, how do you join the union because there are no local workers there who can start the union. So without this kind of collective pressure the government, again, or employers, have less pressure to actually implement the law.  Despite the fact that migrant workers are not allowed to form a trade union there have been a number of actually cases where migrant workers in garment factories did come together and use their collective bargaining power or jointly filed a case, launched a complaint, against their employer through the labour office. And there have been actually several landmark victory cases where the court declared that the employers must pay the unpaid wages to these workers. But in reality, employers did not pay. Nothing changed. And all this workers unfortunately lost the jobs and they could not find any other job in the area or in the same industry because of blacklist.  What we probably need to probably strengthen the support, is what happens to workers after they actually win the cases. Because quite often we celebrate the victory but not necessarily being able to follow up thoroughly over the threats and really difficult conditions that these workers face after they win the cases.  HOST:Reiko Harima from Mekong Migration Network. Migrants and refugees work in the garment industry in many parts of the world –  In Turkey their role is enormous.  As well as Syrian refugees, others from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and former Soviet Union states can all be found, in garment factories.  Hussain is a twenty-five year old refugee worker there.  He tells his story here, with interpretation by Mariam Danisjo.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:I just arrived, and I'm starting my work.  That's Hussain. He's lived in Istanbul, Turkey for the past year. I first met Hussain when I was working for a refugee organization here -- He's from Afghanistan, like me. I'm interpreting for him here. My name's Mariam.   HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:He tells me that he's from the city of Bamyan.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:It's a very peaceful place. I can say it's the safest city in Afghanistan. I spent my whole life in Bamyan. Those are my best memories. Since then, I've faced so many problems.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:My parents passed away. I joined the military. The government sent me to Logar Province. // But visiting my family was dangerous, because the Taliban had informants along the way. Many of my friends were found this way and beheaded by the Taliban. That's why my family asked me to leave the country. It was difficult for me to leave. I was a little bit young. I wasn't ready. But I had to accept.  HUSSAIN:  [Original in Dari] MARIAM:From Kabul, I got a passport with a visa for Iran. From Iran I walked to the border. It took us five or six days. I was scared. If the Iranian police saw, they would shoot. We would run at night. During the day, we would hide in old houses, in the mountains.. I hardly dared to hope we would reach Turkey alive  HUSSAIN[Original in Dari] MARIAM:But when I arrived in Ankara, I lost my hope. I was expecting UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency – to help me get registered as a refugee. Or at least find a good job. But the Turkish government and UNHCR never helped us. The first place where I started working, I wasn't a garment worker. I didn't have any experience sewing clothes. So at first, I worked as a cleaner. But it wasn't enough. I was sending money to my family as well. We had a lunch break between 1 and 2 o'clock. That's when I tried to learn how to use the machines. I'd ask others to teach me. I learned how to work the machine in a month.  HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:My shift starts at 8:30. Every two or three weeks, the designs are different. Right now we're sewing clothes for five or six year old boys. The clothes are being sent to Germany. I don't know the name of the brand. We work until 7 o'clock in the evening. If I mess up the clothes, my boss shouts at me. I work hard, I'm not paid well. And I still get yelled at. I come home very tired. I'm not working legally, so I don't have sick days.   Hussain tells me how much he makes. He says he is paid 12 Turkish lira an hour -- Which makes 1 euro, 33 cents. In a month he makes 2 thousand, 500 Turkish lira … That's only 277 euros. It is a little bit more than half of minimum wage in Turkey. HUSSAIN:[Original in Dari] MARIAM:I spend a thousand liras a month on rent and groceries. There are five of us in a three room flat. On the weekends, before the coronavirus lockdowns, I used to go outside. Now, on Saturdays and Sundays, I read books. Inspiring books, on how to develop myself. How to have a better life. When I'm older, I'm planning to open my own business. I'm learning how to build websites, so I can help people set up an online business. I want to make my own future.  HOST:That's Hussain. This piece was produced by Durrie Bouscaren.  Around two million people work without legal status in Turkey – mostly refugees or migrants. If you like this podcast – please share it with your colleagues in the Clean Clothes Network! And if you haven't subscribed already – make sure you do! You'll get an email every time we publish a new episode, so you won't miss a thing You don't have to be a migrant or a refugee to face extra exploitation at work.  It can find you right in your own home.  Home-based work has been described as ‘invisible labour'.  But home-based workers across the world have been getting organised. Matthew Abud has this report.  REPORTER:Last February saw the launch of HomeNet International  That's a new global network of home-based worker organisations. Janhavi Dave is its international coordinator, based in Delhi. She's been part of India's home-based worker movement / for several years now.  JANHAVI:You know whenever I meet home-based workers especially in garment sector, I always ask them why do they work as home-based workers. And you know what we've found is generally three key reasons which they provide. One is the unfair burden of care work, and this is quite big. You know they have to take care of their children, families, cooking, cleaning, and many developing countries they spend a lot of time fetching water. So there is no other option for them to do any other form of remunerative work apart from home-based work. The second reason is also lack of mobility. They don't have affordable and safe you know or accessible transportation systems to go for example to factories. Or the other part is also, you know due to the patriarchal system women are not allowed to go to the factories or outside their own homes and work. The third key reason you know why they work from home is that there is no other form of work, so this is the only option that they have.  Home based workers as a category of labour is not recognised. Not recognised by and I feel mostly by the primary employer which are the brands. Once they're not recognised, you know there's this entire space where everybody has the capacity to exploit them. You know if they're recognised at the top, and say they have a policy for home-based workers a lot of exploitation can be reduced.  REPORTER:HomeNet International might be new. But in India – as well as elsewhere – organising home-based workers has a long history. JANHAVI:It started somewhere in the 1970s and it was started by Self-Employed Women's Association, and with the garment workers.. The first time when they went for one of the registrations, with the Labour Department, they asked them what is the category of worker, and because you know they had to come up with something quickly, one of the leaders said home-based workers. From 1970s you know, of course SEWA was organising a lot of women home-based workers in India, they also were closely working with ILO, and they got in touch with other organisations in Europe, and Asia, and realised that they were not the only ones organising home based workers, there were many other organisations across the world.  That is the time when they received support and solidarity from three global unions, as far as I remember. One is IUF, second is FNV, and the third is ITGLWF. Now this comes to the early 90s, and when all of them got together and pushed for ILO Convention 177…  REPORTER:C-177 is the ILO Convention on Home Work JANHAVI:…ILO Convention 177, in 1996 this Convention was adopted. You can imagine, you know, there are these big companies, they don't want a Convention for home workers. The brands also, these big companies went back to their countries and ensured it was never adopted.  REPORTER:Only ten countries have ratified Convention 177 so far, with the last being the Netherlands in 2012.  But organising home-based workers hasn't stopped. The path this follows, is different in each country.  In Pakistan for example, home based work is an enormous part of the labour force – but just how big, nobody knows.  Zehra Khan says the best estimate is that the country has around twelve million home-based workers, with eighty percent women.  She's the General Secretary of the Home Based Women Workers Federation – the first union for these workers.  ZEHRA:So there's no fixed wage for them, working in a very low wage, having health issues, not considered part of the economy. Previously this issue was raised on the basis of gender, and most civil society organisations saw it as an issue of the poor women. But we took home based worker issue purely as a working class issue, not just a gender issue, and we said home based workers was being exploited as both a women and the labour. So home based workers get work in their home and it is thinking in the society that the woman was getting the job by staying at home so she don't have any problem.  REPORTER:Zehra and others started to organise home-based workers over ten years ago – the union was first registered in 2009.  Because workers are in their own homes, this organising perhaps looks a little more like community development, rather than conventional industrial union work.  ZEHRA:We started meeting and study circles with these women workers, and made these women realise that they are working and have some rights. This was a difficult stage.   So we formed union at provincial level and then at federal level, and it was first ever trade union of home based workers in Pakistan and led by all the women from the working class and were themselves engaged with the home-based sector. Majority of these home based workers were not literate one but consciously they were far ahead.  REPORTER:They had a union, but home-based workers were still not recognised in the law – so changing this, became the next objective. The Federation first targeted the government in the province of Sindh. ZEHRA:We have participated in draft of policy and even in act as well. And along with this we were building pressure by rallies and demonstrations, and finally by May 2018, the Act of Home Based Workers was passed in provincial assembly. So after passing this law in 2018, the whole workers in Sindh, the first thing is they become legally recognised as worker in Pakistan. The main thing is that now their wages have been fixed, they will be calculated as the minimum wage or you can say the living wage.  And the more important thing is that any issue with the employer, middle man or their contractor, they can now sue them in the arbitrary committee. Any cases, in terms of wages, in terms of any harassment, in terms of anything from their contractor or from their employer, they can go to sue the employer.  REPORTER:Meantime, in Southeast Asia, Thailand has around three point seven million home based workers. That's out of around twenty million informal workers in total.  The mobilisation and campaigning story there, is a little different.  Poonsap Tulaphan is Director of the Foundation for Labour and Employment Promotion.  POONSAPSince 2000, we try to mobilise and organise home based workers. We need to develop the understanding, because normally the home based worker they not consider themselves as a worker. Most of them are women so they consider themselves as a house wife, not a worker. We have to draw the supply chain, that the finished product will go back to the factories and factory export to other country, and they also support the economic growth of the country. That is how we explain to our members REPORTER:Thailand didn't have a formal organisation for home-based workers until 2013 – that's HomeNet Thailand. This is an NGO rather than a trade union. But even before then, after ten years of organising by Poonsap and many others, the country passed the HomeWorker Protection Act in 2011.  POONSAP:The main message in the bill is that it's like, if the worker produce the same product as the factory, they should get the same income, or the same piece rate the factory pay for them. And at the same time there is no law on occupational health and safety. So under the homeworker protection act it state that the employer shouldn't sub-contract the work that are not safe, and if the sub-contract they should educate or training in terms of occupational health and safety, and they have to provide the PPE, the personal protection equipment.  REPORTER:Poonsap says the HomeWorker Protection Act still hasn't had enough impact on the ground.  It took the government three years to even set up the HomeWorkers Committee, as required by the law – so more work is needed.  But that's not the only legislative advance they achieved.  Thailand's social security scheme was set up in the 1990s, and relies on contributions from workers, employers, and government.  For a long time, home-based workers and other informal workers, were supposed to pay for all three – which was impossible.  POONSAP:Informal worker we also contribute for the economic growth of the country, so the government have to take responsible on this. So we advocate and we success in 2011, that the government will co-pay. But the government co-pay only from their side, only about one part of the contribution fee. So if you pay one hundred baht for the contribution fee, the government will co-pay thirty baht and we have to pay seventy baht.  REPORTER:In South and Southeast Asia, home-based workers have been getting organised.  Regional networks were also established.  Here's Janhavi again. JANHAVI:So in 1998 HomeNet South East Asia was formed, and in 2000 HomeNet South Asia was formed. Over the years these organisations strengthened in numbers, but in the early 2010, there was a need felt to actually go beyond Asia and start organising home based workers. This is when WIEGO came into support…  REPORTER:WIEGO is an NGO – the name stands for Women in Informal Employment, Globalizing and Organizing JANHAVI…WIEGO came into support, they did a lot of mapping work, supported local organisations, and in 2013 we had HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and now a lot of organising efforts are happening in Africa and in Latin America.  REPORTER:After many decades of organising, and building regional networks, it was time for a global network – and that's HomeNet International.  JANHAVI:And WIEGO coordinated this effort as a central organisation. And we were hoping to have a first congress, launch congress in the year 2020. We couldn't have it because of the pandemic, but very recently in February we had the launch congress of course virtually, but now there exists a global network of home-based workers.  HomeNet International currently has thirty six affiliates, and collectively we represent over six hundred thousand home-based workers from over eighteen countries. And a first step is actually going to be solidarity building between all our affiliates. While everybody's a home-based worker they're also very different, because you know they work in very different political climates, economic situations, they come from different class, ethnicity, and we have a big, big task of building solidarity between all our affiliates. So that's going to be our first step.  And the third is, which is going to be big for us, is building partnerships with other trade unions, which is ITUCs and SNVs and IUF. And when we say these trade unions, we also want to build partnerships with other organisations which can support the cause of home-based workers, the campaign organisations, Clean Clothes Campaign, Asia Floor Wage Alliance, and ETI. So we're on the lookout what are the other global partnerships that we can build for our network.  HOST:All workers deserve to have their rights defended.  That means greater collaboration, across different worker rights organisations. Marlese von Broembsen, is Law Programme Director at WIEGO – Women in Informal Employment, Globalising and Organising. MARLESE:It's not helpful to from a solidarity perspective and from a political perspective to distinguish between workers inside the factory and workers outside the factory. I mean we know for example from an ILO study done in 2017 that approximately fifty per cent of these factories are taking orders below cost, and so they have to seek mechanisms to download costs and risks onto workers. So typically the workers inside the factory, the pressure on them is unpaid overtime. But the other way of doing that is to outsource further down. They download a range of production costs. So that's the cost of space, it's the cost of electricity, it's the cost of equipment, the sewing machine, the needles. And they can pay them so much less. It's totally unregulated and therefore you know factories can pay nothing. I think it's endemic in the model and unless the procurement terms change it's here to stay.  When we've approached brands, we being WIEGO but also HomeNet Southeast Asia and HomeNet Southasia, when they've approached the brands to say can we track, we know there are home workers in your supply chains, can we trace the supply chain. Sometimes the brands have been quite keen and when we ask them well what would you do, well they'll ban homework then. And I think that's a particular concern for us as we enter this period of the EU mandatory due diligence, because unless we explicitly say it covers the entire chain, and unless we explicitly say all workers should be covered and homeworkers are legitimate workers, the concern for us is that brands will simply say we don't authorise home work. And then it goes further underground and will have further implications for, particularly for wages.  So I think that the point that I'm wanting to make is that you know, do we want to be having first class, second class, third class, some are protected, some are not, some are, only formal ones are protected, and in a sense we really should be transcending the sort of labour law categories of employment and what should be protected and that in fact all workers, whether they're formal or informal, standard, non-standard, should be entitled to labour rights.  HOST:That's Marlese von Broembson, and that's the end of our show.  We have three more shows to go in this series. Like always – we want your feedback! Please email us at podcast@cleanclothes.org. Matthew Abud produced this episode, with Anne Dekker, and the Clean Clothes Podcast team. Liz Parker, Tanne de Goei, and Johnson Chin-Yin Yeung. Sound engineering support is by Steve Adam  I'm Febriana Firdaus.    

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/01/05/the-tourism-industry-hard-hit-in-central-bamyan-district/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2022/01/01/village-life-rural-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/14/village-life-in-bamyan-2/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/13/village-grandma-shares-recipe-village-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/08/afghanistan-traditional-pastry-tandoori-daily-routine-village-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/07/afghanistan-daily-routine-village-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/06/grandma-cooking-afghanistan-daily-routine-village-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/04/afghanistan-bamyan-villages-with-beautiful-landscape/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/12/03/daily-routine-in-the-village-rural-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/29/cooking-dalda-in-the-village-rural-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/22/village-food-afghanistan-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/22/cooking-qabuli-in-the-village-afghanistan-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/15/potato-farming-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/08/village-life-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/11/03/hazara-world-bamyan-in-afghanistan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/10/26/harvesting-potatoes-in-bamyan/

Bamyanın sağlığa yönelik 7 faydası nedir?

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/10/17/art-market-womens-handicrafts-in-bamyan/

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://afghannewswire.com/2021/10/15/bamyan-village-food/

Un popolo a cui viene negata la possibilità di ascoltare musica è un popolo represso da una dittatura feroce . Da ieri i talebani hanno vietato agli afghani di ascoltare ogni tipo di musica internazionale, canzoni, sinfonie o altri brani, in luoghi pubblici. L'annuncio del portavoce dei talebani Zabihullah Mujahid funziona da monito ed è categorico. "La musica è proibita nell'Islam - ha detto al New York Times - ma speriamo di poter persuadere le persone a non fare queste cose, invece di fare pressioni". Dal 1996 al 2001 (e fino a oggi nelle zone che hanno continuato a controllare) vennero messi al bando la musica, i film, la tv – oltre a giochi come il biliardo e gli scacchi, l'alcool, fino allo smalto per le unghie e le riviste di moda. Passa da qui il dominio culturale del gruppo che tiene oggi le redini politiche e militari del Paese. E fa impressione perché anche le più spietate dittature del Novecento in Europa utilizzavano la musica come propaganda politica. In Italia attraverso il Ministero della Cultura Popolare fascista che censurava le canzoni americane e inglese, ma permetteva agli artisti vicini al regime di cantarle alla radio. I talebani no, spengono le radio e gli impianti di ascolto agli afghani, puntano all'isolamento totale del loro popolo. A farne le spese saranno anche le straordinarie eccellenze come l'Istituto nazionale di musica afghano (ANIM) creato da Ahmad Naser Sarmast. Con il regime talebano la popolazione non potrà imparare a suonare uno strumento, registrare e neppure ascoltare musica di nessun tipo (se non le preghiere del muezzin). L'arte non è mai  piaciuta ai talebani. Nel 2001 fecero saltare i giganti Budda nella valle di Bamyan, cercarono di distruggere i reperti dei museo di Kabul. Distrussero libri, fotografie, quadri. Nessuno poteva disegnare volti, o farsi fotografie. A quell'epoca, l'Afghanistan perse circa la metà del suo patrimonio culturale. Vent'anni dopo i talebani invoca la legge della sharia che vieta la rappresentazione di icone, corpi umani e altre divinità. Si profilano anni di oscurantismo per gli afghani. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

Un popolo a cui viene negata la possibilità di ascoltare musica è un popolo represso da una dittatura feroce . Da ieri i talebani hanno vietato agli afghani di ascoltare ogni tipo di musica internazionale, canzoni, sinfonie o altri brani, in luoghi pubblici. L'annuncio del portavoce dei talebani Zabihullah Mujahid funziona da monito ed è categorico. "La musica è proibita nell'Islam - ha detto al New York Times - ma speriamo di poter persuadere le persone a non fare queste cose, invece di fare pressioni". Dal 1996 al 2001 (e fino a oggi nelle zone che hanno continuato a controllare) vennero messi al bando la musica, i film, la tv – oltre a giochi come il biliardo e gli scacchi, l'alcool, fino allo smalto per le unghie e le riviste di moda. Passa da qui il dominio culturale del gruppo che tiene oggi le redini politiche e militari del Paese. E fa impressione perché anche le più spietate dittature del Novecento in Europa utilizzavano la musica come propaganda politica. In Italia attraverso il Ministero della Cultura Popolare fascista che censurava le canzoni americane e inglese, ma permetteva agli artisti vicini al regime di cantarle alla radio. I talebani no, spengono le radio e gli impianti di ascolto agli afghani, puntano all'isolamento totale del loro popolo. A farne le spese saranno anche le straordinarie eccellenze come l'Istituto nazionale di musica afghano (ANIM) creato da Ahmad Naser Sarmast. Con il regime talebano la popolazione non potrà imparare a suonare uno strumento, registrare e neppure ascoltare musica di nessun tipo (se non le preghiere del muezzin). L'arte non è mai  piaciuta ai talebani. Nel 2001 fecero saltare i giganti Budda nella valle di Bamyan, cercarono di distruggere i reperti dei museo di Kabul. Distrussero libri, fotografie, quadri. Nessuno poteva disegnare volti, o farsi fotografie. A quell'epoca, l'Afghanistan perse circa la metà del suo patrimonio culturale. Vent'anni dopo i talebani invoca la legge della sharia che vieta la rappresentazione di icone, corpi umani e altre divinità. Si profilano anni di oscurantismo per gli afghani. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

Un popolo a cui viene negata la possibilità di ascoltare musica è un popolo represso da una dittatura feroce . Da ieri i talebani hanno vietato agli afghani di ascoltare ogni tipo di musica internazionale, canzoni, sinfonie o altri brani, in luoghi pubblici. L'annuncio del portavoce dei talebani Zabihullah Mujahid funziona da monito ed è categorico. "La musica è proibita nell'Islam - ha detto al New York Times - ma speriamo di poter persuadere le persone a non fare queste cose, invece di fare pressioni". Dal 1996 al 2001 (e fino a oggi nelle zone che hanno continuato a controllare) vennero messi al bando la musica, i film, la tv – oltre a giochi come il biliardo e gli scacchi, l'alcool, fino allo smalto per le unghie e le riviste di moda. Passa da qui il dominio culturale del gruppo che tiene oggi le redini politiche e militari del Paese. E fa impressione perché anche le più spietate dittature del Novecento in Europa utilizzavano la musica come propaganda politica. In Italia attraverso il Ministero della Cultura Popolare fascista che censurava le canzoni americane e inglese, ma permetteva agli artisti vicini al regime di cantarle alla radio. I talebani no, spengono le radio e gli impianti di ascolto agli afghani, puntano all'isolamento totale del loro popolo. A farne le spese saranno anche le straordinarie eccellenze come l'Istituto nazionale di musica afghano (ANIM) creato da Ahmad Naser Sarmast. Con il regime talebano la popolazione non potrà imparare a suonare uno strumento, registrare e neppure ascoltare musica di nessun tipo (se non le preghiere del muezzin). L'arte non è mai  piaciuta ai talebani. Nel 2001 fecero saltare i giganti Budda nella valle di Bamyan, cercarono di distruggere i reperti dei museo di Kabul. Distrussero libri, fotografie, quadri. Nessuno poteva disegnare volti, o farsi fotografie. A quell'epoca, l'Afghanistan perse circa la metà del suo patrimonio culturale. Vent'anni dopo i talebani invoca la legge della sharia che vieta la rappresentazione di icone, corpi umani e altre divinità. Si profilano anni di oscurantismo per gli afghani. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

A second group of New Zealand evacuees has made it out of Kabul and is awaiting for a commercial flight home. New Zealand is working with Australian Forces to repatriate at least 200 New Zealand citizens and Afghans who helped with Defence Force with its mission in Bamyan province. Amy Williams filed this report.

È proprio vero. La Storia si ripete nel corso del tempo, ma la seconda volta, spesso, si può trasformare in una farsa. A Bamiyan, una delle prime azioni simboliche dei talebani riguarda l'abbattimento della statua in memoria di Abdul Ali Mazari, un eroe sciita anti talebano. Si tratta di un ex leader politico Hazara, la minoranza sciita in Afghanistan. I talebani ripartono dalla distruzione dei monumenti. Sempre a Bamyan, vent'anni fa, i talebani distrussero con la dinamite i monumentali Buddha, due enormi statue alte 55 e 33 metri scolpite nella pietra a 230 chilometri da Kabul. Uno dei crimini più odiosi contro uno dei Patrimoni dell'Umanità dichiarati dall'Unesco. Il Mullah Omar considerava ''simboli pagani'' quelle rappresentazioni di inestimabile valore. Rispondendo alla denuncia globale per la distruzione dei Buddha, i talebani risposero che l'azione era stata decisa per protestare contro l'attenzione che la comunità internazionale dimostrava per le statue mentre il popolo afghano soffriva la fame. L'abbattimento della statua di un nemico dei talebani è comunque un atto di violenza che non promette niente di buono, come la sparatoria contro i manifestanti a Jalalabad e in diverse altre città afghane, e va in controtendenza con le prime dichiarazioni ufficiali che parlano di un nuovo corso, di un governo inclusivo, di donne inserite nel Governo anche se sotto le regole della Sharia. Tra poco il mainstream dei mass media internazionali farà certamente calare l'attenzione e per il popolo afghano inizieranno periodi complicati. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

È proprio vero. La Storia si ripete nel corso del tempo, ma la seconda volta, spesso, si può trasformare in una farsa. A Bamiyan, una delle prime azioni simboliche dei talebani riguarda l'abbattimento della statua in memoria di Abdul Ali Mazari, un eroe sciita anti talebano. Si tratta di un ex leader politico Hazara, la minoranza sciita in Afghanistan. I talebani ripartono dalla distruzione dei monumenti. Sempre a Bamyan, vent'anni fa, i talebani distrussero con la dinamite i monumentali Buddha, due enormi statue alte 55 e 33 metri scolpite nella pietra a 230 chilometri da Kabul. Uno dei crimini più odiosi contro uno dei Patrimoni dell'Umanità dichiarati dall'Unesco. Il Mullah Omar considerava ''simboli pagani'' quelle rappresentazioni di inestimabile valore. Rispondendo alla denuncia globale per la distruzione dei Buddha, i talebani risposero che l'azione era stata decisa per protestare contro l'attenzione che la comunità internazionale dimostrava per le statue mentre il popolo afghano soffriva la fame. L'abbattimento della statua di un nemico dei talebani è comunque un atto di violenza che non promette niente di buono, come la sparatoria contro i manifestanti a Jalalabad e in diverse altre città afghane, e va in controtendenza con le prime dichiarazioni ufficiali che parlano di un nuovo corso, di un governo inclusivo, di donne inserite nel Governo anche se sotto le regole della Sharia. Tra poco il mainstream dei mass media internazionali farà certamente calare l'attenzione e per il popolo afghano inizieranno periodi complicati. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

È proprio vero. La Storia si ripete nel corso del tempo, ma la seconda volta, spesso, si può trasformare in una farsa. A Bamiyan, una delle prime azioni simboliche dei talebani riguarda l'abbattimento della statua in memoria di Abdul Ali Mazari, un eroe sciita anti talebano. Si tratta di un ex leader politico Hazara, la minoranza sciita in Afghanistan. I talebani ripartono dalla distruzione dei monumenti. Sempre a Bamyan, vent'anni fa, i talebani distrussero con la dinamite i monumentali Buddha, due enormi statue alte 55 e 33 metri scolpite nella pietra a 230 chilometri da Kabul. Uno dei crimini più odiosi contro uno dei Patrimoni dell'Umanità dichiarati dall'Unesco. Il Mullah Omar considerava ''simboli pagani'' quelle rappresentazioni di inestimabile valore. Rispondendo alla denuncia globale per la distruzione dei Buddha, i talebani risposero che l'azione era stata decisa per protestare contro l'attenzione che la comunità internazionale dimostrava per le statue mentre il popolo afghano soffriva la fame. L'abbattimento della statua di un nemico dei talebani è comunque un atto di violenza che non promette niente di buono, come la sparatoria contro i manifestanti a Jalalabad e in diverse altre città afghane, e va in controtendenza con le prime dichiarazioni ufficiali che parlano di un nuovo corso, di un governo inclusivo, di donne inserite nel Governo anche se sotto le regole della Sharia. Tra poco il mainstream dei mass media internazionali farà certamente calare l'attenzione e per il popolo afghano inizieranno periodi complicati. Ascolta "Il Corsivo" a cura di Daniele Biacchessi, ogni giorno su www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra app

An Afghan volunteer interpreter says helping the NZDF will cost him his life if our government does not get him out now. Nowroz Ali, who worked alongside Kiwi forces in Bamyan province, fears the worst if he is not part of an emergency evacuation being staged by the NZ Defence Force. Taliban fighters have taken control of all major Afghan cities, sweeping into the capital Kabul overnight, seizing the presidential palace and declaring victory. Nowroz Ali has made multiple applications to resettle in New Zealand - and is hopeful the work he's done will be enough to get him on the Hercules being sent in to rescue people.  

In der aktuellen Podcast Folge "Was bewirken Kulturzerstörungen?" erzählt der Historiker und Präsident der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz Hermann Parzinger die Geschichte vernichteter Kulturschätze vom Artemis-Tempel in Ephesos bis hin zu den terroristischen Zerstörungen von Palmyra und Bamyan und spricht über die Auseinandersetzung mit der deutschen Kolonialzeit. Was sagen Sie dazu? Schreiben Sie uns auf unserer Community-Seite, wo sie den Podcast wie immer auch als Video finden: www.wbg-community.de

Refaha nasıl ve kiminle ulaşabiliriz? Bamyanın faydaları ve değerleri? Et tüketiminde ne gibi sorunlar çıkar? Anti-kanser diyeti nasıl olmalı?

Refaha nasıl ve kiminle ulaşabiliriz? Bamyanın faydaları ve değerleri? Et tüketiminde ne gibi sorunlar çıkar? Anti-kanser diyeti nasıl olmalı?

Aylin Öney Tan NTVRadyo'da bugün altın değerinde olduğunu söylediği kuru bamyayı anlatıyor. Bamyanın, Afrika'dan geldiğini, Türk mutfağındaki yerini anlatırken, Osmanlı'da bamyanın baş tacı edildiğini, askeri birliklerden birinin adının "lahanacılar" olduğunu, Manisa tarafındaki birliğin adının da "bamyacılar" olduğunu ekliyor. Konya'daki "yemek arası" olarak yenilen ekşili bamya çorbasını, Amasya'daki meşhur "çiçek bamya" işinin ne kadar meşakkatli olduğunu söylüyor. İyi dinlemeler. Gelecek program: Pirpirim ve molehiya yemekleri...    

Rocky Mountain Healing. Working our way through the Democrat assault binge on American Norms and Institutions. From DC as 51st State to the All Mail Ballot to the bygone tradition of the "peaceful transfer of power." Rule of Law as obstacle to Democrats with unhealthy cravings for power. US Constitution as antidote. Exploring the hateful mindset behind the Leftist toppling of statues and defacing of historical monuments. Reminiscent of Taliban fundamentalists blowing up the Buddhas of Bamyan in 2001. President Trump signs Executive Order to prosecute vandalism of federal monuments. Arrests already made. Basement Biden ducking Presidential Debates. Establishment attempting to block President Trump's direct communication with the American People, from tweets to rallies. NYT devises yet another Russia Hoax. Trump v. Military Industrial Complex. Plus, our Coronavirus Updates. American Academy of Pediatrics advises schools to resume with "students physically present." No apparent evidence that children and adolescents can "amplify" the COVID-19 outbreak. Mother Freedom. Misty Mountain Hop. With Listener Calls & Music via Bread, Led Zeppelin and Ray LaMontagne. 

The Overnight Underground News Podcast, here’s today's headlines:  The great statue war of 2020. Fawlty Towers falls. Starbucks not woke, woke. Band Aids woke. Lawlessness in Seattle and three tales of the po po.  These stories and more on today’s Overnight Underground News. I’m John Ford.   The Great Statue War Get ready for the first weekend of the great statue war. In London, they’ve completely encased the statue of Winston Churchill so protesters can’t deface and topple the statue of a man that just a few scant years ago was voted England’s greatest Britton. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  Christopher Columbus, Cecil Rhodes, Robert the Bruce in Scotland and Belgium’s King Leopold have all been the targets of angry mobs of woke il-liberals.  What’s the end game? Well, now English protesters are calling for the destruction of the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and in the US, CNN talking head Angela Rye has called for statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to be torn down. Like we didn’t see that coming. Meanwhile, across the pond, Nigel Farage resigned from his radio show with, quote “immediate effect” on Thursday. This comes following Farage’s comparison of the statue demolishers to the Taliban. Referring to the destruction of the two thousand year old Buddhas of Bamyan by the Talaban in 2001. Well, if the shoe fits.  Cancel everything Just how absurd can all this get? Well, an episode of the classic TV comedy “Fawlty Towers has been removed from UKTV. So far John Cleese, the Monty Python star who played Basil on the series, hasn’t commented on the move. Not to be outdone, the Nick Jr. cartoon Paw Patrol is being targeted by activists. It seems that the positive slant of the police dogs portrayed on the cartoon are just more than the offended woke mob can deal with.  Starbucks Black Lives (don’t/do) Matter Just as news came in from burnt coffee giant Starbucks that they will be closing some four hundred stores in North America, the Seattle brown liquid proprietor released a statement that workers in its store will not be allowed to wear pro black lives matter attire. Although Starbucks has gotten on the corporate bandwagon of virtue signaling their support for BLM, they just don’t want employees showing their political colors on the job. All of this comes from that bastard, uh bastion of journalistic integrity BuzzFeed, who has posted an internal Starbucks memo online. The memo states that BLM flair does not conform to Starbucks dress code policy banning pins representing “political, religious or personal issue[s]” All I can say is, ’m sure the mob is coming for you next, despite your corporate virtue signaling. OK, forget everything I just said, Starbucks just caved. According to CNN, Starbucks is reversing the position prohibiting employees from wearing paraphernalia, such as T-shirts or pins supporting BLM. Wonder if this new policy includes all political paraphernalia? Expect someone to get fired for wearing a Trump hat or Goldwater pin and lawsuits to commence forthwith. Me thinks Starbucks just opened their own bag of whoopass. Band-Aid gets woke Let’s see, what else we got here. Band-Aids are becoming more inclusive. According to an article on KVUE-TV, Band-Aid is expanding products for all skin tones. The company is set to launch bandages in light, medium and deep shades of brown and black skin tones. That should fix just about everything.  Seattle Autonomous Zone Update We got a couple three police stories for you. In the continuing saga of Lawless in Seattle, the police chief has now gone on record that city officials in the people's republic of Seattle left the po po out to dangle in the wind during the recent riots and protests.  Well, even though she’s black, she isn’t towing the woke Seattle intersectionalist agenda, so she can probably kiss her job goodbye. As a side note, Trump continues his Twitter war of words with the Seattle and Washington State political machine. Tweeting Friday morning, quote: “Seattle Mayor says, about the anarchists takeover of her city, “it is a Summer of Love”. That’s Seattle Mayor dingbat Durkin. Trump continues: “These Liberal Dems don’t have a clue. The terrorists burn and pillage our cities, and they think it is just wonderful, even the death. Must end this Seattle takeover now!” I wonder what he’s really thinking?  No pee at Berklee Five Oh The Berklee College of Music is apologizing for allowing the Boston Police to use their facilities to relieve themselves during the recent unrest in the city. According to Fox News, the school apologized for, quote:  “perpetuating feelings of oppression, silencing and marginalization” after it let Boston Police use its bathrooms. You know, you just can’t make this shit up.   San Fran surrenders Meanwhile, in San Francisco, the Police have announced that in accordance with the current political climate of calls for defunding the po po and to limit unnecessary confrontation between the police department and the community, the San Fran boys in blue will no longer respond to non-criminal calls. The web site Watch our City reports Mayor London Breed also noted that the city will ban the use of military-grade weapons and divert funding to the African-American community. Murder over dog poop Now this is one fucked up story. A woman in Denver was shot and killed because she was talking to her dog, trying to convince the pooch to do its duty. According to the Denver Post,  twenty one year old Isabella Thallas was walking her dog with a friend near Coors Field when a verbal altercation ensued with someone in an apartment,  over her telling her dog to hurry up and poop. Thirty six year old  Michael Close then allegedly opened fire on the couple shooting Thallas dead. Police later nabbed the reputed shooter Wednesday driving on a nearby highway.  A rifle and a handgun were found in his car. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the woman’s family to cover funeral expenses. 

Karla Mora fully expects to have a major impact on the apparel industry, the clothes we wear, and where we dispose of those clothes after we wear them. She is a self-described impact investor, and her venture capital fund, Alante Capital, co-led by former JP Morgan executive, Leslie Harwell, and backed enthusiastically by women’s fashion legend Eileen Fisher, is investing in a future in which landfills won’t be overloaded with yesterday’s throwaway polyesters — meaning a future of sustainable apparel. Alante Capital is investing in young companies that are offering a better process for making and re-making apparel. The road that Karla Mora took to this went by way of a United Nations Compound in Kabul, Afghanistan and a neighborhood in Costa Rica, Barrio Escalante. Listen in for her story. Key Takeaways: [:23] Ray Hoffman introduces Karla Mora, Founder and Managing Partner of Alante Capital. [1:14] Karla Mora’s background was in international political economics and improving livelihoods in emerging markets. She worked for a while at the UN, looking at inefficiencies in the coffee sector, then Peace Dividend Trust (Building Markets), to build vibrant ecosystems where people can lift themselves out of poverty. [2:06] In Kabul for six months, Karla collected data and wrote a report. She returned to California to finish writing the report. She ran into a person running an impact investment fund and she was inspired to start a fund in 2012 to invest with purpose. [2:44] Karla describes the challenges of living in Kabul. She was not able to exercise outside, but the Afghan people were amazing and resilient. [3:57] In Karla’s off hours, she kept in touch with an agricultural investor in New York who was helping small farmers reach farmer’s markets in communities without access to fresh food. She worked with him every evening while her days were spent working on the Kabul impact report. [4:33] Karla enjoyed back-country skiing in the mountains in Bamyan, Afghanistan. [5:28] Karla came up with the name for Alante Capital while she was living in Barrio Escalante in Costa Rica. Alante is Spanish for moving forward. It took Karla about a year to make the decision to move forward with Alante Capital. [6:35] Karla started the idea that became Alante Capital with a friend from San Francisco. They both were in impact investing and they talked about starting a fund in fashion. They studied the idea for about eight months but didn’t launch it together as they were in two different geographies and had different ideas. [7:03] After all her research, Karla had fallen in love with the concept and the industry. She knew she wanted to move forward. She had already been introduced to Leslie Harwell by a graduate advisor. Karla and Leslie had also been at JP Morgan. They became fast friends and thought partners. [7:32] Karla’s husband noticed how Karla felt when she got off the phone with Leslie and he suggested they partner to achieve their goals. Karla wrote a job description for Leslie and convinced her to leave the bank and work with Karla. [7:46] Leslie had been at Credit Suisse for years and had moved to JP Morgan because of her passion for impact investing and social finance. Leslie had been observing a trend of industry-specific systems-change funds starting up. She had not seen one in apparel. When Karla showed up with her idea, Leslie was excited to get started. [8:21] Alante Capital began in Costa Rica. Her husband consulted with her on the ideas and put data in spreadsheets for her. As a new wife starting a new financial venture, it was a scary time for Karla. She made sure not to make decisions based on fear. She kept seeing signals from the industry that she was on the right track. [9:18] After starting Alante Capital, Karla and her husband moved back to California. About a year ago, Karla became pregnant. Karla came off maternity leave two months before this interview. Then they had their first close for the fund and their first investment. It was a busy and exciting time. Every day is a juggling act for Karla. [9:53] Karla and Leslie are on opposites sides of the country. They had done so much pre-planning work together that once they joined forces, they had a great rapport. Leslie came to Santa Barbra for a few months at the beginning to work side-by-side with Karla. That’s when they brought on their anchor investor, Eileen Fisher. [10:20] Karla and Leslie message each other and talk throughout the day, as though they are in the next room from each other. They may exchange hundreds of messages in a day, chatting while they’re working. They feel very engaged with each other. [10:48] Eileen Fisher is their anchor investor and general partner. She was a critical part of getting the fund launched. Leslie knew someone at JP Morgan who was working with Eileen to help her put her capital into investments for the sustainable apparel industry. [11:08] When Karla sent out an announcement about Leslie joining the team, it circulated and was shared with Eileen who saw it as the investment she had been seeking. It was humbling and exciting for Karla and Leslie that a major figure in apparel was interested in their startup. [11:99] Karla and Leslie had been looking for funding for their startup. They had a list of potential general partners and Eileen Fisher was number one on their list. [12:02] Alante Capital works very closely with large brands. When consumers race to find the cheapest products possible, brands are under a lot of pressure to provide them. Polyester is cheap and it ends up in landfills. [12:30] Alante Capital just invested in Mango Materials, a company started by two women from Stanford who figured out a way to create a biodegradable polyester fiber that’s not made from plastic. It breaks down in the environment. [13:00] Tyton Biosciences is another company in which Alante Capital has invested. They break down polyester-cotton blended garments using a clean process. About 80% of clothing is a cotton-poly blend. Brands can use the fibers from this process again in new clothes. [13:34] Karla sees a good level of scale in each of these companies within three to five years. At that point, there will be a couple of directions to take to accelerate their scale greatly. [13:51] Karla predicts that in 18 months to two years, we will start seeing collections of clothes made from post-consumer garment waste — old clothes. [14:09] Alante Capital is looking at about 140 companies that fit squarely into their thesis. As their first two investments are in fibers, next, they are looking at the garment rental and resale industries. Karla likes to talk to companies in the early stages. If it’s not a fit, she wants to let them know as early as she can. [15:03] Sustainability is the direction the industry is taking. You can see articles in industry and mainstream media every day talking about sustainability in fashion. It’s driving more investment of capital and time into investment practices, new consumption models, and sustainable production. [15:47] The big brands will be a major part of the solution. Karla goes to them in the spirit of collaboration with an approach of being helpful in achieving their sustainability goals. She seeks to understand the true operational hurdles they face in doing so. Then, she introduces them to startups that will help them achieve their goals and innovate. [16:30] Conversations with brands often go into what rental or resale can do to decrease waste and dependence on virgin fibers. Brands like working with Alante Capital to help them think outside the box. Alante Capital is up-to-date on the newest innovations. Alante Capital can help drive early interactions between brands and startups. [16:53] Karla loves working with brands because she gets to learn about the companies in the pipeline, and figure out which ones are viable and solve problems identified by the market. [17:15] Karla talks about the five-year outlook for Alante Capital. She hopes for a portfolio of 15 companies. In five years, the apparel industry will have made significant improvements in the use of recycled fibers. All brands are looking at recycled fibers. Consumers will see lots of recycled fabric garments in the stores. [17:52] Karla expects over the next five years to have the security that comes from leaving startup mode, knowing her company is funded, operational, and successful, including having a set salary and the ability to make plans and control her schedule. [18:15] Karla Mora is Capitalism. Alante Capital is capitalism.   Mentioned in This Episode: Stephens.com Karla Mora JP Morgan Alante Capital Leslie Harwell Eileen Fisher United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Barrio Escalante, San José, Costa Rica Peace Dividend Trust (Building Markets) Bamyan, Afghanistan Credit Suisse Santa Barbara Mango Materials Tyton Biosciences LA Times NY Times

Stuff Circuit reporters Paula Penfold and Eugene Bingham on how they uncovered the deaths of seven children as a result of New Zealand's failure to clear explosive remnants from its former firing range in Afghanistan.

Bamyan lies on the Silk Road which lies in the Hindu Kush mountain region, in the Bamiyan Valley. It was the site of several Buddhist monasteries, and a thriving center for religion, philosophy, and Indian art. The destruction of the Bamyan Buddhas became a symbol of oppression and a rallying point for the freedom of religious expression. Despite the fact that most Afghans are Muslim, they too had embraced their past and many were appalled by this destruction. Afghanistan is not so much a country as a series of shifting borders. A place with no easily definable physical or civil boundaries. A place where war is an everyday fact of life. A place where more children will learn to use a gun than will go to school. About 1.5 million have been killed during the past 20 years of war. Perhaps another 4 million have fled. Every major road has been torn apart by tank treads. Almost every major building left standing has been blown full of holes. This is the most militant Islamic state on Earth but it was once was peace loving and Buddhist. In the Bamian Valley north of Kabul the two largest statues of Buddha on the planet were carved in the third century. David Adams was the last Westerner to exhaustively film them before they were blown up in 2001. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thehistoryexpress/support

Dr Naysan Adlparvar (Yale University), gives a talk for the Middle East Studies Centre. Marriage, in Afghanistan, is a highly strategic affair. In most cases, Afghan parents carefully manage who their children marry. This is done to forge alliances and accrue financial benefits. At the same time, marriage also serves to maintain community boundaries - be they familial, religious or ethnic. These boundaries are often stark; with prolonged conflict making interethnic and intersectarian marriage uncommon. Yet, since the US-led intervention in Afghanistan, intergenerational modes of control have begun to falter and marriage patterns have begun to shift. In the Bamyan Valley - deep in the mountainous Central Highlands of the country - 'escape marriage' or elopement has become increasingly common, as has the retaliatory violence it engenders. A series of high-profile elopement cases, between members of two ethnic communities, have captivated the local media. Hazarah men are 'escaping' with Sayid women; which is being met with mounting violence and growing ethnic tensions. Young women and men in Bamyan are caught between familial/ethnic expectations and their personal desire - backed by Human Rights institutions-to marry those they choose. Based on extended ethnographic research in Afghanistan’s Bamyan Valley, this lecture will discuss the emerging phenomenon of 'escape marriage' and the underlying mechanisms that foster it. It will do this by exposing the shifting social landscape in Afghanistan and by drawing linkages between the formation of the new Afghan State, the emergence of educational opportunities for women, the action of Human Rights institutions and, ultimately, the changing nature of marriage and elopement. This lecture will explore how and why young Bamyani men and women navigate the treacherous ground between love and lineage.

Afghan Special Forces and police quick reaction force fight side by side, to provide better security for Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Produced by Sayed Mansoor. Includes soundbites from General Abdul Razaq, police chief of Bamyan (in Dari), Habiba Surabi, governor of Bamyan (in English). This version includes voiceover and graphics.

A festival held in Bamyan pays homage to the history and culture of the region, particularly its most famous site, the Buddhas, which were destroyed by the Taliban, 12 years ago. Produced by Sayed Mansoor. Edited and voiced by William Bonnett. This version includes graphics and voiceover.

This edition features stories on Afghan national police participating in a crime scene investigation course, a U.S. Air Force neurosurgeon saving the life of an eight-month old Afghan girl and New Zealand soldiers helping rebuild Afghanistan as part of the Bamyan provincial reconstruction team. Hosted by Tech. Sgt. Dwight Hawkins.