STEIN'S GRAVE

Rahimullah the keeper

The Grave after renovation

Stein's Grave

Aurel Stein's grave in the Gora Kabar (which literally means 'white graveyard') in Kabul has survived the recent fighting quite well. A group of Muhajedin removed the trees in the graveyard for firewood, but otherwise there has been little deliberate damage. When British troops arrived in January we discovered that the cross above the grave lost its top corner and the memorial stone was cracked, but this looked more like frost shattering than vandalism. This damage has now been repaired by a local stone mason and the grave polished. It is shown here following repair.The graveyard has been cared for by the same Chowkidar, Rahimullah, for a long time. He was unpaid for nearly twenty years during the various recent wars, and protected the graves during the worst excesses of the Taliban. Recompense has now been made by the Army and the British Embassy have salaried him again, in conjunction with other embassies in Kabul as people from many different countries are buried there.

The Gora Kabar lies at the northwestern corner of the Bimaru Heights in Kabul. It also contains 158 graves of British soldiers and their families dating back to the First and Second Afghan Wars, although many of their headstones have been lost. A severe frost in 1978 damaged the few remaining ones and those that could be rescued were placed in a line along the southern wall. We have renovated these and held a service of re-dedication in February. We have also dug a new well and put in an electric pump so that Rahimullah, who is now quite old, can restore the garden; built up the walls, to stop locals throwing rubbish over; diverted two domestic drains that seemed to empty on the southern side and had new gates made. With the Spring about to break, the graveyard looks as good as it has done for two decades1. A facsimile of the original 1903 edition of Stein's popular account of his first Central Asian expedition, Sand Buried Ruins of Khotan, has been published by Books for Travel in a limited edition of 500 copies, with photographs and maps and bound in the red cover of the original.

For details contact: http://www.booksfortravel.org.uk