Stories about the Afghan history, about diamonds and mystical birds, made me aware of how familiar this culture is through childhood tales of Ali Baba and the likes. And then: conversations with nowadays Afghan people shows how less I understand the culture and the problems of this country. If you let aside the sometimes quite self conscious and demanding attitude of Rory Stewart this book helps to get a deeper understanding of modern Afghanistan, the beauty of its history and nature and the loss it suffered because of all the wars.