Afghanistan has been both a fortress of faith and a mountainous crossroads from time immemorial. Through its high valleys merchants traded Chinese porcelains, bundles of indigo cloth, sacks of lapis lazuli, and emeralds from both east and west. Ancient scrolls and beliefs entered the land in the satchels of Buddhist pilgrims and in the baggage of military invaders from Alexander the Great to Mughal, Persian and Arab conquerors and even the ill-fated armies of the British Raj. Peter Levi was intrigued by the strange story of a Greek site in Afghanistan and this account of his travels through the migratory trails left behind in this remote area is a beautifully crafted book.
