For the past few years I've been studying the history and culture of Afghanistan, one of the crossroads of the world.  Of course, all this research was conducted outside of Afghanistan because it wasn't possible to enter due to the security situation. Pakistan is one of my favorite countries on the planet and during a visit to Peshawar some Afghan friends told me that the repressive Taliban regime had imposed some sense of order in the country. In December 2000, I applied for a visa at the Taliban consulate in Peshawar with the intention of visiting Bamiyan and other historical sites. Other foreigners, especially Japanese travellers in large groups, had been given visas and seen the country. The staff at the consulate were extremely polite and helpful but all visa applications would be submitted to Kabul. They said it would be at least ten days until a decision had been reached regarding my application. Being an American, I knew the chances were slim and three weeks later there was still no information on my visa application.       In May of 2002, the same consulate in Peshawar was being run by the new interim government under Hamid Karzai and Afghanistan's visa situation clearly reflected the new government. The new consul general, who spoke excellent English,  looked over my application and upon seeing that my passport was issued in Los Angeles mentioned that he had lived in San Diego for several years. A visa was granted the next day for $30. However, please note that this new open policy for visas doesn't reflect any improvement in the security situation and as I mentioned earlier, it isn't currently safe to visit. The US State Department at www.state.gov is a good source for information on present conditions.      While the study of ethnic relations and ancient cultures of Asia is a bit of an obsession of mine, I make my living as an editor, assistant editor, and editorial technician in New York City. I've worked as a tech on films such as Bringing Out The Dead, Sleepy Hollow, Shaft, Man on The Moon, and Titus and currently help edit television commercials for large ad agencies.      If you share an interest in Gandharan Buddhist sites of Pakistan (Saidu Sharif, Tacht-i-Bahi, Butkara), please feel free to send me an email at afghantravel@yahoo.com. Will Hall Brooklyn, New York
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