The Los Angeles musician, Ariana Delawari — aka Lion of Panjshir — is half Afghan and half Sicilian and makes wonderfully enlightened weirdo folk rock. I hope she takes that as a compliment! Her music is delicate and powerful and she is a pure artist. Everything she does has that magic light in it. She made her new album partially in Afghanistan, and many of the lyrics deal with the continued oppression of people’s liberties by the Taliban.

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Afghanistan has always been famous for rugs. The impact of several decades of political turmoil has left its mark on this national art. However, Turkmen weavers have been weaving what are known as ‘war rugs‘ that depict weapons, military vehicles, and even the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Notice the dove in the center, indicating that the rug’s maker isn’t celebrating the attacks.