The Survival Guide to Kabul©
Published
internationally in July 2003 as Kabul: The Bradt Mini Guide.
First published in Kabul in September 2002
as a pamphlet.
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March 17 2002
The photo above was published in The
Times on April 5 2003: The Irish Club features in The Times.
ASSOCIATED
PRESS – THE IRISH CLUB, KABUL
KABUL, April 17 (AP) - In Taliban times, it
would have been unimaginable: a fully stocked Irish pub serving whiskey and
cold beer in the heart of Afghanistan's ultra-Islamic capital. In the post-Taliban era,
Kabul's new Irish Club - the country's only bar - is still unthinkable, at
least for Afghans. But it's a huge success with the many foreigners who are
desperate for a little bit of nightlife. "Walk in that front
door and you'll find a very different world in here," says Allan
Ferguson, a 57-year-old Australian businessman sitting on a barstool as Irish
folk tunes blare from speakers overhead. "You could be anywhere -
Ireland, Australia, America. But walk outside, and you'll be back in
Afghanistan." The Irish Club opened on a
secluded side street in central Kabul last month on - what else - St.
Patrick's Day. Concealed by a nondescript
outer concrete wall with no sign out front - not even a number on the door,
it's not an easy place to find. In a country where terrorists are still a
threat, that's exactly the way the Irish-born owner wants it. "We wanted to keep a
low profile, so we didn't advertise whatsoever," owner Sean Martin Mc
Quade said. "But people know where to find us. News travels fast by word
of mouth." Judging by the club's
growing popularity, Quade was right. In a mock-Tudor style
house behind the blank outer wall, immaculate Afghan waiters in black pants,
white shirts and black bow ties serve up beer for US$2 and cocktails for
US$3. Customers - mostly aid workers, diplomats and journalists - crowd
around a wooden bar topped off with green marble imported from Ireland. Afghan carpets are strewn
about the floor. Ads for Guinness Draught are tacked all over the walls.
Small lanterns - handy during sporadic power outages - are placed on every
table, filling the bar with warm light. "We're the first
people to stick our necks out and say this can be a cosmopolitan city,"
says Quade, who's worked as an engineer in Afghanistan for 11 years. "But we don't
want to disrespect anybody." Toward that end, Quade
sought the approval of a neighborhood mullah to open the bar. In return, he
has promised to help rebuild the potholed road in front of the club and help
relocate an adjacent school to a bigger, better lot. The bar is officially
licensed by the state to sell alcohol – but only to foreigners. Just inside
the bar's entrance, an Afghan bouncer keeps Afghans out, checking IDs and
requiring patrons to sign in. "I'm sad we can't let
them in, but this is a Muslim country and it's the government's wish that we
don't encourage their sons and daughters to participate," Quade says,
before taking a swig from a tall glass of Foster's lager. The Taliban no longer are
in power but Muslim conservatives continue to hold sway in Afghanistan. Just
a few months ago, the country's chief justice banned cable television,
complaining of images that violate Islamic morals. Fazel Ahmed Manawi, the
deputy supreme court justice, said Muslims found drinking at the Irish Club will
be punished. "We've got a lot of
foreigners living in our country and unfortunately, this is a necessary thing
for them," Manawi says. "But this bar should remain a place only
for foreigners." There are Afghan staff of
course, but they've all been given Irish names - Kevin, Jimmy, Michael,
George - "to protect them from possible retaliation." Most of the staff, too,
are keen on keeping a low profile. "Our families know
what we do, but we tell other people we just work in a restaurant or a
guesthouse selling food and soft drinks," says 22-year-old
"Paddy." The claim is not far off.
The club already serves up pork chops and steaks for lunch and dinner. And
rooms are being refurbished for what will soon be a full-blown inn. Out front, several
soldiers - paid by the bar - prowl the street with automatic weapons. Afghan
drivers, slumped in four-by-four vehicles, wait listlessly for aid workers
and diplomats to emerge, hoping their nights on the town don't last too late. The risk of a terrorist
attack is always present, but in a city with little in the way of nightlife,
few patrons seem to mind. "We all accept a
certain level of risk in coming to Afghanistan," Ferguson says with a shrug. "You can't
live in a cocoon."
The New Irish Bar in Kabul: July 31 2003 New Irish Bar opens in Kabul. More… |
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The Survival Guide to Kabul©
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