Abdul Wase has squeezed into a circle with hundreds of other men in a field of gravel and dust. He has whooped and cheered as competing dogs lunge and snarl under the hot morning sun.
It's the 45-year-old police officer's first visit to Kabul's weekly dog fights -- and he's very pleased.
"Today was a very good day for me," says Wase, smiling broadly. "This is the only place to be happy."
PHOTO: AP
Dog fighting season is in full swing in the Chaman-e-Babrak district at the northern end of Kabul. Every Friday -- the Muslim day of rest -- the fight crowd stakes out a corner of an arid expanse as big as five football fields. Tattered tents and makeshift wooden homes of returned refugees spread over the rest of the area. Mountains loom in the distance.
The fights were banned during the rule of the Taliban religious army, as were less violent forms of entertainment, including movies, music and kite flying. After the Taliban were toppled from power nearly two years ago, dog owners started up the fights again.
"It is our culture," says Amir Mohammed, who has been a regular for 30 years.
"Fridays are holidays. There are no parks, no picnics. We want to have a good time," he says.
The crowd can swell up to 10,000 -- Kabul residents on one side, everyone else on the other. Fights are held only during fall and winter, avoiding the intense heat of the rest of year, which regulars say can worsen dogs' injuries.
Owners bring dogs from across Afghanistan. The hounds, powerfully muscled mixed breeds, loll at the ends of leashes made of rope, leather or strips of colorful fabric. They pant lazily in the sun, eyes intent on the field.
Between fights, conversation falls into a murmur as friends and rival fans bet money -- and the occasional car. Young girls and boys weave through the crowd selling candy and cigarettes from open boxes hanging around their necks or shoulders.
The announcer holds a purple wooden stick to beat back out-of-control dogs or to chase off any child who wanders too close to the circle.
With a wave of his baton, the fight is on.
Growling, snapping, leaping and grabbing, the dogs attack each other in swirling clouds of ochre-colored dust. A win is scored when the opponent weakens. Matches very rarely result in deaths.
In one match, a dog flees mid-battle -- the ultimate disgrace. People hoot and jeer as they try to catch the runaway.
"That is not professional, not good," says Mohammed Amin, a 24-year-old student who has been coming to the fights since he was a child.
"It is my hobby to come here. I have to come. I will keep coming until I grow old," he says.
Khuja Shishakor has two dogs competing. One, a three-year-old German shepherd mix called Tank, has won three or four fights today.
He runs Tank in the hills at night for exercise and feeds him donkey meat for strength. Like most of the dogs, Tank began fighting when he turned three and will fight for five to seven years.
"Even if you give me a lot of money and a four-wheel-drive car, I will never give my dogs away," says Shishakor, 34.
While he is talking, his other dog, who is handled by his nephew, scores a win in the last match of the day. Shishakor runs to the center of the ring and gives the announcer a tip.
Shishakor then invites a group of friends home for lunch.
"I am victorious!" he exclaims as he walks away.
Tank trots after him, his tail wagging.
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