Introduction to the questionnaire:

My name is Lara Favaretto and I am an artist from Italy. I have been invited to do a project in Kabul and I would like to search and work around the many entangled stories that make up the city's culture, society, and history. I was in Kabul only once and I visited as many places as possible, and I listened to and read many stories, but it was not enough. I would like you to help me identify areas or places that you deem historically important or emotionally charged for you and for your own life as a Kabul citizen, in your present or in your past. With your help, I would be able to choose specific places to conduct soil core extractions that would make tangible the city's collective memory and identity. I will then exhibit the cores as well as the documentation of this research (possibly including your reply to the questionnaire) and I will invite you to look at them. After some time they will be donated to an institution in Kabul, where they will remain.

Date of Interview: 24/04/2012
Name of Interviewee: Murtaza
Neighborhood: Hajji Nabi Town (Darul Aman)

Interview What is the public place in Kabul that you feel most connected with? Why? Can you describe the place? Do you have a story to tell about it? Do you have a picture and can you share a copy with me?

Murtaza I feel a special connection to Hajji Nabi town, my place of residence because it has good weather and the cultured people of Chahar Dehi live there.

Interview What is the private place in Kabul that you have the most memories of? Can you describe the place? Can you share a memory? Do you have a picture and can you share a copy with me?

Murtaza I have many memories from Shar-e-Naw. We have lived in Qala-e-Fathullah in the past. When my father and I went home from the Old City by bicycle, I got teased by the people who used to sit next to Shahr-e-Naw Park and called out loudly at me, because I was very small, which is an unforgettable memory.

Interview Could you name an open space in the outskirts of Kabul that you feel especially bounded to? Can you describe the place? Do you have a picture and can you share a copy with me?

Murtaza I feel especially bounded to Karta-e-Sakhi Cemetery because it is the burial place of my ancestors.

Interview If you could preserve forever one specific area or place in the whole city of Kabul, which place would you choose? Why is it so important for you? Can you tell us about your experience of the place? Do you have a picture and can you share a copy with me?

Murtaza If I could, I would preserve Karta-e-Sakhi, because it is a relatively old cemetery.

Interview If you could rebuild a place in Kabul that is not anymore, which place would you choose? Why was it so important for you? Can you tell us about your experience of the place?

Murtaza If I could, I would rebuild the beautiful garden of Bagh-e-Bala and convert the King’s Guest House into an art exhibition space.

Interview If you could build a new place (a house, a public building, a garden etc) in Kabul what would you build? Why? Can you describe the place you have in mind?

Murtaza I would build a new place in Chahar Qala-e-Wazir Abad, Omid-e-Sabz Town, and the Company area because they have special locations.