Filed under: Afghanistan, directing, documentary, film, GUIDE TO AFGHANISTAN: The Adventures of a KL-ite, internet, journalism, new media, photo essay, The Malaysian Insider, video blog, writing | Tags: afghanistan, ANP, askar, bamiyan, bamyan, blood, buddha, buddhas, buddhas of bamiyan, conflict, culture, defence, documentary, fat bidin, film, history, insurgency, interview, isaf, islam, journalism, kabul, kementerian, kuala lumpur, magazine, malaysia, malaysian armed forces, malcon, media, middle east, military, mindef, ministry, mullah, museum, muslim, new media, news, pertahanan, september 11, solo journalism, taliban, tentera malaysia, terrorism, torah, video journalism, war, web video, yadkawlang, zan azlee
This week is part 10 of my multimedia documentary, Guide To Afghanistan: The Adventures of a KL-ite, which includes video, still photos an text. As you would know, this is concurrent with the 10-part feature on The Malaysian Insider website, of which you can view part 10 here:
Living by the feet of Buddha
By Zan Azlee
FEB 13 — After the days I spent on patrol with Malaysia’s MALCON ISAF 2 in the rural areas of Bamiyan building water filters, educating health officials and saving lives, I was glad to be back in the safety of Kiwi Base in the city of Bamiyan.
Bamiyan is actually one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan and this is due to its population of predominantly Hazarat people who fiercely reject the Taliban. They are Shiites and were terribly oppressed, hurt and killed during the rule of the Taliban. So walking the streets of Bamiyan city is really like a walk in the park compared to in Kabul.
Now that I was feeling a bit secure and safe, I wanted to do something that I had dreamed of since I was 15 years old. That’s right! I wanted to go and see for myself, with my own two eyes, the great Buddhas of Bamiyan.
I was apparently still under the responsibility of the Malaysian Armed Forces, and the commander, Lt Col Rusman Sanip, did not want to allow me to roam outside of the army base on my own (although I had spent all my time in Kabul alone before meeting up with them in Bamiyan!). He was kind enough to escort me together with a couple of security team members. [Click to read the full article at The Malaysian Insider]
Guide to Afghanistan: The Adventures of a KL-ite
Part 10 of 10
‘Living by the feet of Buddha’
Zan fulfills his 19 year dream of seeing the Buddhas of Bamiyan! And he discovers the ultra poor Hazarats living at his feet… literally.
Full Synopsis:
Zan Azlee, a Malaysian KL-ite journalist who has lived all his life in non-conflict zones, travels to Afghanistan to see if he can come up with the best travel guide for the country. With no idea what he is getting himself into, he dodges suicide bombers and IEDs, and even gets embedded with the army, to plan out the best tourist route in Afghanistan. This is a multimedia documentary produced by Fat Bidin Media and directed by solo-journalist Zan Azlee.
To view all the episodes, head to FATBIDIN.COM/AFGHANISTAN.
Click the thumbnails below to launch the photo essay (Part 10).
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- The cave village next to the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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- The cavity of one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan that was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
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- The Buddhas of Bamiyan has been declared a UNESCO heritage site.
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- Visiting the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Right to left: Lt. Col. Rusman Sanip, Rjr Suhaili Saleh, Cop. Muhamad Nahar Yaacob, the writer (me!), fixer/interpreter Ahmad Bilal Raghbat and the site’s caretaker.
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- The writer (me!) at the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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- The writer (me!) sitting on Buddha’s foot.
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- A little village girl in Bamiyan.
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- MALCON ISAF 2 Commander, Lt. Col. Rusman Sanip with Mohammad Musa.
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- Mohammad Musa in his cave-house.
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- Mohammad Musa and his family outside his cave-house.
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- The view of Bamiyan city from the cave village.
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- The cave village next to the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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- Cave drawings discovered at the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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- UNESCO has started restoration efforts on the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
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- The cavity of one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan that was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are still available… just give me a buzz if you are interested and we can talk! If you would like to own original FAT BIDIN MEDIA documentary films and books to enhance your coolness factor, visit the FAT BIDIN e-STORE!
Filed under: Afghanistan, directing, documentary, film, GUIDE TO AFGHANISTAN: The Adventures of a KL-ite, internet, journalism, new media, photo essay, The Malaysian Insider, video blog, writing | Tags: 9/11, afghanistan, ahmad shah massoud, angkatan tentera, ariana, armed forces, army, askar, bamiyan, buddha, cinema, conflict, culture, documentary, esquire, fat bidin, film, history, insurgency, interview, isaf, islam, jew, jewish, journalism, kabul, kuala lumpur, magazine, malaysia, malcon, massoud, media, middle east, military, mindef, museum, muslim, nato, new media, news, perang, sediq sediqqi, september 11, simantov, solo journalism, synagogue, taliban, terrorism, torah, video journalism, war, web video, zan azlee, zebolon simantov, zebulon
This week is part 5 of my multimedia documentary, Guide To Afghanistan: The Adventures of a KL-ite, which includes video, still photos an text. As you would know, this is concurrent with the 10-part feature on The Malaysian Insider website, of which you can view part 5 here:
Finding Rambo in Afghanistan!
By Zan Azlee
JAN 9 — No matter how much I read and watch the news about Afghanistan, the one thing that always frames my perspective when it comes to the country is its Islamic extremism. And I know that this is how many people around the world perceive it as well. So, during my time in Afghanistan, one of the issues that interested me was the fact that so much of the country’s culture had been suppressed, or even eradicated, by the Taliban during their rule.
And now that the United States has blown the Taliban out of political power, a lot of this culture, which was deemed haram by the Taliban, is making a comeback. I spoke to Ahmad Bilal Raghbat, my local fixer, about this and the first thing that came to his mind was movies.
“I love watching movies but during the Taliban time, cinemas were shut down,” said the big Bollywood fan.
After days of driving and walking around Kabul with Bilal, I noticed that there was actually quite a big cinema in the middle of the city right next President Hamid Karzai’s office. It’s called Ariana and you can hardly miss it due to all the brightly coloured movie posters adorning the walls on the outside. [Click to read the full article at The Malaysian Insider]
Guide to Afghanistan: The Adventures of a KL-ite
Part 5 of 10
‘Finding Rambo in Afghanistan!’
Zan finds Rambo, Nicholas Cage and Dolph Lundgren in the mountains of Afghanistan.
Full Synopsis:
Zan Azlee, a Malaysian KL-ite journalist who has lived all his life in non-conflict zones, travels to Afghanistan to see if he can come up with the best travel guide for the country. With no idea what he is getting himself into, he dodges suicide bombers and IEDs, and even gets embedded with the army, to plan out the best tourist route in Afghanistan. This is a multimedia documentary produced by Fat Bidin Media and directed by solo-journalist Zan Azlee.
To view all the episodes, head to FATBIDIN.COM/AFGHANISTAN.
Click the thumbnails below to launch the photo essay (Part 5).
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- Zan at the National Museum of Afghanistan.
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- Zan with his new buddy (ANP) at the bombed-riddled Darul Aman Palace next to the National Museum of Afghanistan.
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- Ismail Daud of the National Museum of Afghanistan.
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- An old artifact being restored at the National Museum of Afghanistan.
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- Pictures of a recent archaelogical excavation in Afghanistan.
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- A statue of Buddha at the National Museum of Afghanistan.
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- The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul.
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- The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul.
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- Rambo is alive and well in Kabul!
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- Nicholas Cage in Kabul!
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- Ariana Cinema in the heart of Kabul.
Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are still available… just give me a buzz if you are interested and we can talk! If you would like to own original FAT BIDIN MEDIA documentary films and books to enhance your coolness factor, visit the FAT BIDIN e-STORE!
