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Liebig was a German meat supplier. A hundred years ago they produced collectible cards with artwork of various places to help advertise their meat stock to German housewives. The following concern Afghanistan and date from 1908. They give an insight into life back then in an Afghanistan ruled by Amir Habibullah Khan.
The italics are translations of the German text on the cards.
The text below that are the translated captions found on the back of these cards.
Afghanistan - In the Bolan Pass. Afghan Homes.
[Original German caption translated] The cliffs and high plateaus of the land, and the somewhat hard to transverse mountain passes, make Afghanistan a natural fortress. One of the biggest passes, the Bolan Pass permits traffic with Baluchistan. The biggest Afghan tribe is the Durrani, which counts itself among the more western, cultured tribes. They are in part farmers, in part shepherds. [end]
Afghanistan - Kandahar. Mullah preaching War.
[Original German caption translated] Kandahar, lying to the southwest of Kabul, is the second largest city. It makes a square with a gate on every side and from which a road that leads to the biggest bazaar in the center of the city. Many landmark buildings remind one of the time when Kandahar ripened. Guarded by tall walls with shields and rifle slots, strengthened by fifty-five towers offer protection against enemy attack. Much interest is aroused by the Mohammedan priests (Mullah); they use this regard to prod the people to war. [end]
Afghanistan - Kabul - Gate and Bazaar Street [bottom]. Mosque of Ahmed Shah, Kandahar. Distinguished Afghans [top]
[Original German caption translated] Afghanistan, the Near East Asian emirate subject to quarrel between England and Russia, reveals a continuous high elevated plain. Wild cliffs alternate with fruitful stretches of land. Kabul, the capital, lies in an area that can measure itself against Babylon and Nineveh; some parts do though bear witness to an earlier splendor. The Afghan is very proud of his piece of land. His great predeliction for beautiful guns comes in part from the passionate sense of freedom that stirs his soul. [end]
Afghanistan. Gate of the Bala Hissar [top]. Types of the Afghan Army [bottom]
[Original German caption translated] In the Bala Hissar is the residence of the Amir of Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass, at whose entrance lies the Fort of Jamrud, is the most famous of the fifty passes. Today's army is fitted in Russian-English-Indian traditions; it has a strength of about 50,000 men, with 125 cannons. [end]
Afghanistan - Nomad village of hill men [top]. Catching fish. Waterfall on the Kabul [River bottom].
[Original German caption translated] The most important among the many rivers of Afghanistan is the Kabul, whose source is 11,500 feet above sea level. Foaming and turgid the river storms into the Indus Valley, until its muzzling by the Indus many waterfalls and slipstreams later. The Afghan rivers cannot be traversed by ship, but fish catching is pursued diligently, by the fishermen sitting in a large leather or earthenware pot, that he deftly knows how to steer. The nomadic hill men live in tents, in which one room is set aside for women. [end]
Afghanistan - Herat Citadel [top]. Grave of Shah Rukh. Sword sharpeners in Herat [bottom].
[Original German caption translated] Herat is the third largest and often fought over border city of Afghanistan. Old oriental storytellers represent it as the richest and most beautiful city in Asia. All this beauty, like so much in central Asia, soon found its ruin when the wild hordes of Genghis Khan (1222) appeared before Herat. It did recover surprisingly quickly; even today it is a blossoming trade and industrial city. On holidays the inhabitants go as pilgirms to the tomb of Shah Rukh. [end]
The italics are translations of the German text on the cards.
The text below that are the translated captions found on the back of these cards.
Afghanistan - In the Bolan Pass. Afghan Homes.
[Original German caption translated] The cliffs and high plateaus of the land, and the somewhat hard to transverse mountain passes, make Afghanistan a natural fortress. One of the biggest passes, the Bolan Pass permits traffic with Baluchistan. The biggest Afghan tribe is the Durrani, which counts itself among the more western, cultured tribes. They are in part farmers, in part shepherds. [end]
Afghanistan - Kandahar. Mullah preaching War.
[Original German caption translated] Kandahar, lying to the southwest of Kabul, is the second largest city. It makes a square with a gate on every side and from which a road that leads to the biggest bazaar in the center of the city. Many landmark buildings remind one of the time when Kandahar ripened. Guarded by tall walls with shields and rifle slots, strengthened by fifty-five towers offer protection against enemy attack. Much interest is aroused by the Mohammedan priests (Mullah); they use this regard to prod the people to war. [end]
Afghanistan - Kabul - Gate and Bazaar Street [bottom]. Mosque of Ahmed Shah, Kandahar. Distinguished Afghans [top]
[Original German caption translated] Afghanistan, the Near East Asian emirate subject to quarrel between England and Russia, reveals a continuous high elevated plain. Wild cliffs alternate with fruitful stretches of land. Kabul, the capital, lies in an area that can measure itself against Babylon and Nineveh; some parts do though bear witness to an earlier splendor. The Afghan is very proud of his piece of land. His great predeliction for beautiful guns comes in part from the passionate sense of freedom that stirs his soul. [end]
Afghanistan. Gate of the Bala Hissar [top]. Types of the Afghan Army [bottom]
[Original German caption translated] In the Bala Hissar is the residence of the Amir of Afghanistan. The Khyber Pass, at whose entrance lies the Fort of Jamrud, is the most famous of the fifty passes. Today's army is fitted in Russian-English-Indian traditions; it has a strength of about 50,000 men, with 125 cannons. [end]
Afghanistan - Nomad village of hill men [top]. Catching fish. Waterfall on the Kabul [River bottom].
[Original German caption translated] The most important among the many rivers of Afghanistan is the Kabul, whose source is 11,500 feet above sea level. Foaming and turgid the river storms into the Indus Valley, until its muzzling by the Indus many waterfalls and slipstreams later. The Afghan rivers cannot be traversed by ship, but fish catching is pursued diligently, by the fishermen sitting in a large leather or earthenware pot, that he deftly knows how to steer. The nomadic hill men live in tents, in which one room is set aside for women. [end]
Afghanistan - Herat Citadel [top]. Grave of Shah Rukh. Sword sharpeners in Herat [bottom].
[Original German caption translated] Herat is the third largest and often fought over border city of Afghanistan. Old oriental storytellers represent it as the richest and most beautiful city in Asia. All this beauty, like so much in central Asia, soon found its ruin when the wild hordes of Genghis Khan (1222) appeared before Herat. It did recover surprisingly quickly; even today it is a blossoming trade and industrial city. On holidays the inhabitants go as pilgirms to the tomb of Shah Rukh. [end]