Tapa Marajan hill - kite flying

Posted by Scotfot (Kabul, Afghanistan) on 8 March 2009 in Lifestyle & Culture.

Fighting kites is a very popular sport in Kabul. Every Friday during winter, the day off in Afghanistan, large numbers of men and boys head for Tapa Marajan hill for flying. The kite lines are coated with a mixture of finely crushed glass and glue, for cutting the line of a competitor. Once cut, it becomes a 'free kite' it gradually falls to the ground, whoever catches the kite can keep it. The children run for them hoping to be first to get the 'free kite' and so own it.

For my new pictures see the flickr feed below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scroate/

vfxy Photoblogs

Comments (11)

saeed from ahwaz, Iran

WOW! very exciting indeed! nice shot

8 Mar 2009 7:36am

@saeed: many thanks saeed... is kite flying popular in Iran? I know it is done in India and Pakistan.

lydia from Paris, France

So many of them are flying , I can imagine the joy with the children , very interesting Bob ! Have a nice day !

8 Mar 2009 7:43am

@lydia: It amazes me the height they fly at, how they keep track of their kite and how they manoeuvre the line which to me is invisible to cut another also invisible line!

Jenny from United Kingdom

Superb shot! That looks like a lot of fun!

8 Mar 2009 10:38am

@Jenny: Many thanks, its difficult to photograph as the kite flying team is separated from the kite by several thousand feet!

saeed from ahwaz, Iran

hi again... like this!? unfortunately not!

8 Mar 2009 12:35pm

samantha chesler-leiman from westmoorings, Trinidad and Tobago

This is great! I showed your pictures to my class on Friday and they were very impressed. I will now add this one. It helps so much to visualize the world of Kabul. Thanks!

8 Mar 2009 1:14pm