Pilgrims flock to Kabul to pay tribute to the Afghan Elvis

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,1095019,00.html

They come in small groups, old men and young couples, streaming into the cemetery, three miles outside Kabul. The pilgrims hush and head for a concrete mausoleum among the cluttered graves. Its design is unremarkable: six concrete arches reaching up to a four-metre (15ft) marble-tiled dome. Yet, to Afghan music lovers, this is Memphis.
Five months ago a group of fans rebuilt the tomb of Ahmed Zahir - a pop sensation of the 1960s and 70s - which had been obliterated by the music-hating Taliban. Zahir's devotees now flock in their thousands to pay tribute to Afghanistan's only modern celebrity, a man popularly called the "Afghan Elvis".

"He was a beautiful singer and a beautiful man," said Sharifa, 52. "He had a generous heart and his hair - it was like a bird's feathers," she said, running her fingers over her own bright hennaed bun.

Though divided by ethnic rivalries and 23 years of war, Afghans agree on their love for Zahir. As a Pashtun who sang mainly in Afghanistan's other main language, Persian, and the son of a prime minister who championed the poor, he symbolises for many the golden age of the 70s, when Afghanistan was at its most prosperous and united.