When Dr Watson gets nostalgic, he tells Sherlock Holmes how army service in Afghanistan toughened him up for those moment’s-notice calls to pack his bags and leave London for the rigours of rural England — usually by first-class train. For lovers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective and his down-to-earth sidekick, Watson’s stories come alive in the teeming markets of the bustling Afghan capital.Welcome to Chicken Street, Kabul, lined with shops hidden behind lace curtains selling Afghan carpets, lamb-skin hats favoured by President Hamid Karzai, assorted jewellery and the spoils of 19th century wars against the British.‘‘There are thousands and thousands of Royal Enfields and Tower rifles,’’ said 16-year-old trader Farhad. ‘‘The best come to Chicken Street, because people all over the country know we only sell the best.’’Nearby in another trader’s shop, past the scruffy children, a Royal Enfield could sell for as much as $220. Asked what he knows about the British campaigns in Afghanistan, Fawad, the second trader said: ‘‘I know the British were defeated.That’s it.’’ When the Afghans formed their kingdom under Ahmad Shah, the British were establishing themselves firmly as the East India Company. They were forever extending the area under their control, ostensibly to maintain the stability needed for trade.The 19th Century saw British India’s ‘‘Great Game’’ rivalry with Russia over Afghanistan, with the British campaign marked by defeats, humiliating retreats and bloody retribution.‘‘We get customers from the US, Finland, Denmark.But mostly the customers are British,’’ he said. The first-floor guest houses on Chicken Street and the adjoining Flower Street were an essential stop on the hippie trail to the east during the 1960s and 1970s, when Afghan coats, beads and marijuana were all the rage.Then the Soviets invaded and business went flat for years. Under the Taliban’s dour rule, foreigners vanished altogether.Since Taliban rule ended last year, the street has come alive again with overseas aid workers, diplomats and journalists, many reaching for fat wallets without bothering to bargain. (Reuters)
