This wonderful image of a young Afghan baker was a recent winner in an ongoing photo contest that being run by Istanbul Eats (you can find a larger version of the photo here).
The photographer, Chris Strickland, is currently working in Afghanistan with The HALO Trust, which is removing mines and unexploded ordinances in the north of the country.
I wrote Chris asking him to provide more details about the baker and the photo. This is what he said:
The Photograph was taken in Taloqan, Takhar, Northern Afghanistan. The baker is called Jan Agha and is a 22 year old Tajik from Taloqan.
In a country where many still rely on subsistence farming to survive, bread is the main part of the Afghan staple diet and is a part of every meal. Afghanistan's agriculture is predominantly rain-fed 'lalmi' land and the main crop is wheat. A good winter and spring rainfall is essential for a good harvest which in turn keeps food prices for essentials such as bread at an affordable level.
I was drawn to the bakery because it was actually a dark uninviting room, but I could smell the bread and hear the activity, and as a curious photographer, I naturally popped my head in. I was then of course presented with an inviting bakers oven and there was a lovely shaft of light coming through from a vent in the roof.Afghans being Afghans bought me some tea and a chair, and I hung around for half an hour or so, and just before I left I took this image.
The patterns on the bread, the cloak about to be placed to protect the bread, and of course the light bringing it all to life.Its just an everyday scene from Afghanistan, which I hope brings some human perspective on a place which is still widely understood. I think Jan Agha has done that by doing what he does every day, baking bread.
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