….or 101 ways to find what you’re looking for!

Kabul is the largest city in Afghanistan. Shopping here is more plentiful than anywhere else in the ‘stan, but there’s just one catch, finding what you want. Once you’ve done that you’re faced with the herculean task of then trying to find a good quality version of the item.

My first trip out I was looking for furniture, a sofa and chairs to be more precise. Something a bit more comfortable than the run down patio furniture that has been left in the house. Of course I’m on a budget $600-$700 USD. My first trip out I went to at least five different stores each more dire than the last. This is the best sofa set I found…

Best sofa set I could find during my first foray.

The crazy thing about this set is that it is huge but is built in such a way that when you sit in it…you feel HUGE! The seat is very short and the arms in the armchair narrow at the seat.

At the end of this shopping day I was very discouraged. Even the nicer shop that sold furniture imported from Turkey wasn’t that great and the prices were $2,000 and up for a set.

However, I remained unconvinced that there wasn’t any furniture in Kabul that I would want to buy. At one point I toyed with having a set made to order, but that is too big a gamble.

Today I went shopping for the third and hopefully final time. I asked my driver, who grew up in Kabul, to take me to a nice furniture store. I wound up back at the Turkish place…and found the following:

Super comfortable sectional with removable cover...a must with the Kabul dust!!

Leather couch - well made and comfortable.

Comfortable, good neutral color & has a removable slip cover.

From there I asked him to take me to a nice Afghani place…here’s what we found.

Great fabric, hand carved wood and very comfortable.

The arms on this couch flair out slightly to acommodate pillows.

Slightly more traditional style.

So…what do you think??? Which one should I choose?