Northern Virginia Scavenger Hunt, October 18, 2025

Uncategorized 2 Minutes
“Namak Mandi Shinwari” in Bailey’s Crossroads, Falls Church. The melting pot par excellence. So much to choose from this area in terms of cuisine. And today, it’s Pashtun cuisine. Our system is a ‘Cold War’ system, and in terms of this particular system, Odd Arne Westad wrote: “Before, during, and after the Cold War, everyone wants their place in the sun. A chance to be counted. Respect for what they consider as theirs, whether in religion, lifestyle, or territory. Often people, and especially young people, need to be part of something bigger than themselves or even their families, some immense idea to devote one’s life to. The Cold War shows what happens when such notions get perverted for the sake of power, influence, and control.” Pashtuns are 40 million-plus tribal people who straddle both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and beyond. My mother is Pashtun, although her grandfather and my great-grandfather became an urban liberal after the Third Anglo-Afghan War of the 1920’s when he married into the King’s family. His tribe, the Waziri tribe, are world-renowned fighters who toppled British India and perhaps even the British Empire in general. Pashtuns have warded off one empire after another ever since the Mongols. Recently, they warded off the Americans. Right now, they are in a war with Pakistan over territorial sovereignty. The territory of the Pashtuns was split between Afghanistan and what was then British India and is now Pakistan by the British in the late 1800’s. The line or border that splits the territory of the Pashtuns between Afghanistan and Pakistan is called the “Durand Line.” Recently, that line was supposed to dissolve and the territory on the Pakistani side of the line was supposed to be given back to Afghanistan per the agreement signed by Emir Abdurrahman Khan of Afghanistan and Sir Mortimer Durand of Britain. But Pakistan kept the territory and the line or border in place, hence the war between Pashtuns and Pakistan today. What’s America’s aim and goal in all of this? Control of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Simple. But the Pashtuns got in the way of achieving that aim or goal. And that not only explains where we are now, but that explains everything in the international system at the moment. All the chaos and dysfunction and what have you. For dinner, ‘dumpukht.’ Fatty lamb cooked in a clay pot. I love it. You’ll get the review ASAP. After everything I’ve experienced and tried, I revert to hole in the walls like this. I like luxury, but I like hole in the walls more. I derive my subconscious or unconscious happiness and instinct for survival from these kinds of hole in the walls. Especially when it offers cuisine from your own family’s background and culture.
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Published by adamazim1988

I have a Bachelor's Degree in History/Government and International Relations from George Mason University, and a Master's Degree in International Affairs with a Concentration in U.S. Foreign Policy from American University in Washington, DC. I was born in New York City, and have lived in Northern Virginia since childhood. I am an independent writer and an entrepreneur. I am also a book author.

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