Chicken Street ( prs, کوچه مرغ ''Koch-e Murgha'') is a narrow street located in the

Shahr-e Naw Shahr-e Naw ( ps, شهر نو; prs, شهرنو), also spelled Share Naw, Shahre Naow or Shari Naw, is an affluent neighborhood in the northwestern section of Kabul, Afghanistan. It is a downtown commercial area housing most of the bigger buildin ...

district of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

east of the Asamayi. It has been an iconic shopping street in the city and popular with foreigners, famous for its carpets, handicrafts and antiques.

History

Chicken Street was the major attraction for foreigners during the

Hippie trail Hippie trail (also the overland) is the name given to the overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly from Turkey through Iran, Afghanistan ...

from the 1960s to late 1970s.

Afghan coat An Afghan coat is a sheepskin or goatskin coat made with the fleece on the inside and the soft suede-like leather on the outside. It is a development of the traditional overcoat of the Afghan people, which could be anywhere from jacket- to ankl ...

s, bracelets and plenty of

hashish Hashish ( ar, حشيش, ()), also known as hash, "dry herb, hay" is a drug made by compressing and processing parts of the cannabis plant, typically focusing on flowering buds (female flowers) containing the most trichomes. European Monitorin ...

made it popular. Hippies would also smoke

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

here. Along with hotels, it provided items for the travelers to use en route towards

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. The street and tourism in general declined with the start of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

. Following the

United States invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operatio ...

and the influx of foreign diplomats and other visitors, the street was thriving again for it became a popular place for Afghan souvenirs. Traditional

Afghan rug An Afghan rug (or Afghan carpet) is a type of handwoven floor-covering textile traditionally made in the northern and western areas of Afghanistan, mainly by Afghan Turkmens and Uzbeks. Types and varieties One of the most exotic and distin ...

s and

lapis lazuli Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...

stones were popular with shoppers. Emerald, rubies, exotic food and artists selling paintings are among the other attractions on offer. However the departure of most foreign

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

troops by 2014 led to a significant downturn in business. Security issues have also hampered business. Despite its name, the street is not known for its sale of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

s - those are instead sold on the adjacent Flower Street. Chicken Street shopping - Kabul - کابل.jpg, Antiquity in Chicken Street Kabul Antiquity Shop2.jpg, Antiquity in Chicken Street Kabul Antiquity Shop1.jpg, Antiquity in Chicken Street

In popular culture

Chicken Street was the subject of the eponymous 2005 novel by

Amanda Sthers Amanda Queffélec-Maruani (born 18 April 1978), known professionally as Amanda Sthers, is a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker. Biography Sthers is of Tunisian Sefardi and Breton origins. She has written ten novels which ha ...

. The street is featured in the 2007 documentary film ''

16 Days in Afghanistan ''16 Days in Afghanistan'' is a 2007 documentary film about the journey of Afghan-American Anwar Hajher, also the director, traveling to his homeland Afghanistan after 25 years to rediscover his country. The film is produced by Mithaq Kazimi and ...

''.

References

{{reflist Streets in Kabul Hippie movement

History

In popular culture

See also

References