Globe structure in center of Kabul

Video. Kabul unveils new art piece in city square

The Afghan capital unveiled a new landmark in its Dahan-e-bagh square, in Kabul.

The Afghan capital unveiled a new landmark in its Dahan-e-bagh square, in Kabul.

A giant hand-painted globe, with an enlarged representation of the country, now graces the city. The globe is 8m in diameter and is set upon a structure that has a mechanism that allows it to spin 5 times a minute. 

Afghanistan is painted to resemble the Taliban flag, inscribed with the Islamic declaration of faith. Reaction to the artwork is mixed.

Elaha, a female unemployed teacher said she's disappointed with the globe. "When I saw the map of Afghanistan on the sphere (painted with the Taliban flag) I got depressed. You know how women are restricted currently. When I saw it, my nerves collapsed completely."

Faisal Mudarris, a Youtuber said "I think it's very good. One of the things that makes me so happy, (is that) this is all an Afghan engineer's work so we are proud of our Afghans. We want to show for the world that if we want, we can."

The piece is the work of artist Abid Wardak who says it took him 4 days to paint the piece, while perched on a bamboo ladder.