In 1968, with Franco still in power, 21-year-old Ana M. Briongos left her native city of Barcelona for the first time and went to Afghanistan. Staying first in Kandahar, then in Kabul, it was not long before she fell in love with this fascinating country. Between 1968 and 1977, she would return there many times. In her quest for self-discovery, she encountered a cast of characters worthy of a novel, from street vendors in the bazaar to members of the country's ruling class and relatives of the Afghan royal family. Ana M. Briongos was also very privileged to be given a rare and intriguing glimpse behind the veil into the hidden world of Afghan women. "Winter in Kandahar" offers a personal recollection of an Afghanistan that no longer exists: that of the final years of a forty-year-old monarchy on the verge of collapse. The book provides an insight into Afghanistan's complex system of clans and tribes, as well as a compelling account of the country's troubled history. The friendships Ana Briongos cemented during those years are still very much alive; this book represents a tribute to the survival of friendship through adversity against a backdrop of adventure and intrigue.

Herat; The Hotel Pamir and the Judge House; Suitors; I built mazes to escape from prison; Niels returns from the bans of the Helmand; The Hammam; Fleeing the Heat; Kabul; Sidiqs House; the world of Pierre Descombes; the Afghan friend; Pierre Descombes talks about his childhood; Return from Pamir; Pygmalion in Kabul; Chanel n.5; Pierre Descombes Conversion; The Twenty Fifith Hour Key Club; the night is ours; Night of the iguana; Persona non grata; with Ayub Khans People Beyond Band-i-Amir; The Russians came; A place in paradise; In search of an old friend; 2008 update