Album DescriptionSituated at the confluence of the great civilizations of Asia, Afghanistan was, at the time of these recordings, a veritable museum of traditional music. We find here, in original form, elements of ancient Indian, Iranian, Turkish and old Russian music, as well as vestiges of ancient Greek music and forms which are curiously close to European music of the Middle Ages. This startling and enjoyable collection, which features a wide variety of both musical cultures and instruments (pipes, flutes, oboes, drums and lutes, as well as vocals), defies preconceptions of the music of the Middle East.