Tag Archives: Craftsmanship

Autumn in Kabul 2012

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Melanie

  I am very excited to be returning to Kabul later this month. The reason for my return is that for the past two years, since my first visit to Kabul, I have been involved in developing a project to take … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Design, Jewellery, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Khala Mahgul

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Melanie

Khala Mahgul is the eldest lady in the community of Murad Khane. Khala is the Dari equivalent of “Auntie”, Dari is the dialect of Persion spoken in Afghanistan. For those of you new to my blog, Murad Khane is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Salam Melanie jan! Chetor Astid?…

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Melanie

(Literally translated as “Peace Melanie my soul. How are you?”. However a more accurate English equivalent would be “Hello Melanie dear, how are you?”. This is always followed by questions further enquiring into your health and wellbeing, the health and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Design, Jewellery, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring in Kabul

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Melanie

Here I was thinking that it was high time that I sat down and got myself organised to put up more posts and photos of my two months last autumn at Turquoise Mountain in Kabul but this post is actually … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gem-cutting design workshop – Lapis Lazuli

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Melanie

Gem-cutting at the Institute here at Turquoise Mountain is carried out using both  modern and traditional equipment.  It’s difficult to know where to start with the gem-cutting students because they truly blow me away whenever I visit them. I haven’t gotten to … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Design, Jewellery, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Design workshop – Looking to the Turkmen style

Posted on October 23, 2010 by Melanie

 I have had a great time carrying out some design workshops and technical exercises with the students. I’ll be posting some of the highlights of these over the next few days. The students had asked me to design something … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Design, Jewellery, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Murad Khane

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Melanie

Before I even arrived in Afghanistan I had read about Turquoise Mountain’s regeneration project in Murad Khane, which is in the heart of Kabul’s old city, a historic quarter of Kabul on the banks of the Kabul River. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Design, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Autumn in Kabul

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Melanie

I have been blessed with an extraordinary opportunity to spend two months this autumn at an inspiring organisation, Turquoise Mountain. This blog is my attempt to share my experiences of my residency at the Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts, Culture, Design, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments