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Re: Afghanistan???



> Is aquarium keeping practiced as a
> hobby by many (any???) Afghanistan nationals? 
> Are there pet shops in Kabul?
> Its always fascinating to hear how the hobby exists
> in other parts of the
> world......tell us more.....

I don't yet know my way around Kabul, so 
I won't be a good judge at present on hobbies
in general, pet shops in particular, or general
interest in aquaria.  I'll get back to you on
that in the next bunch of weeks.

Needless to say, most of the population is
really focused on subsistance living.  Since
the economy is pretty hard hit for the last
22 years or so, I'd assume luxuries like an
aquarium aren't realistic for most of the
population.  Lots of tents, goats, camels,
chickens, donkies, and a few dogs.  I haven't
seen any house cats, but there are tigers in the
region and it's possible some people are very
ambitious with their house pets.  Most of the
people live in tents or adobe or metal sheds, 
(lots of population migration because of political
conflict), and there's not much in the way of
running water (hand pumps located in various 
areas in town).

Mostly, I intend to do some field expeditions
down to the rivers that still have water.
I've seen lots that don't, and it's really hard
to tell what fish/plants used to be there (we're
in a long running drought for the past several
years).  When I find some aquatic vegetation,
I have a digital camera (several, actually) and
I'll try to see what grows.  I've made a large
screening net to try and catch some fish too,
but I haven't used it.

Apparently we are moving into the monsoon season
(four months?) so I'll try to hurry up and get
some of the "before" pictures so we can
supplement with the "during" and "after".  It
would be so cool if I could see something like
spawning for an annual killie species.

As most of you know, there are a lot of very
interesting aquatic plants throughout central
and east Asia, and I very much doubt there's been
a field expedition in this region specifically
for aquatic plants.  Still, this is the intersection
of the old Silk Road from China to Europe, so you
never know what people might have dragged across
the desert in the last few centuries.  ;-)

> I guess it struck me as so absurd that 
> I thought it could not possibly be true!  
> LOL, nothing personal ... <snip>

It really does seem ridiculous, doesn't it?
I have a hard time believing it myself.  Truth
is stranger than fiction.  ;-))  No worries!  
Everything is all good, all the time!  ;-)

--charley


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