As I embark on this blogging adventure, a little historical
context seems appropriate. I write
these words from the Zabul Province in southeastern Afghanistan, a bit east of
Kandahar. Far closer and within
view are the city of Qalat, and the fortress first built by the Macedonian king
Alexander the Great over two thousand years ago during his push to India. The remnants of this “castle” are
visible in the distance over the author’s left shoulder, on the right bank of
the river Tarnak near the road between Kabul and Kandahar. Alexander was reputed to have died
shortly after the consumption of a large quantity of wine for reasons still
debated, but at least he died happy.
Given this propensity for wine in his life, it is doubtless that he
consumed it at his nearby fortress.
Fast forward to the mid-nineteenth century, when the
wine-loving British Army occupied this same fortress, then known
Kalat-i-Ghilzai. In 1842, a British
garrison was held under seige at the fort by the Ghilzais for six
months, as seen in the painting by Lieutenant James Rattray, courtesy of the
British Library. I can only hope
for the sake of my former military colleagues from the mother country that they
had an ample supply of wine to carry them through those long months of siege.
Sadly, I don’t have that same luxury of a nearby wine cellar
as enjoyed by militaries past, but these musings on matching wine with MREs in
the coming days will surely fill the void. Cheers!
