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MY TEXTILE MERCHANT FRIENDS

My discovery of “Chicken Street” was a real find. It later became known for souvenirs, but when I was there the shops were selling textiles, lapis lazuli, carpets, antiques, and more (though, I don’t recall seeing any chickens). As I wandered along, looking in windows, I was invited by many vendors to “Sit, have tea.” One such shop owner seemed particularly pleasant. His textiles were stunning, so I went in. He spoke a fair amount of English, which helped, since I only knew about ten words of Farsi by then. His name was Mohamed Nabi Rajab, owner of Dara-I-Zang Handicrafts, and he and I became good friends over the several months that I was in Kabul. He also introduced me to his good friend who sold beautiful woven saddle bags and rugs, and another who sold antique garments. I imported goods from all of them, which were rapidly sold through an exhibition at the Minge International Museum.