KABUL, Afghanistan – In the basement of the old Mullah Shams market on Kabul's famous Chicken Street, below the beggars, the gemstone carvers, street artists and carpet stores, lies a tiny windowless store stuffed to the ceiling with troves of ancient weapons and slices of Afghan history.
Stepping into the store of 69-year-old Tawakal is like entering a time machine. For decades, Tawakal has collected and restored weapons dating back hundreds of years from provinces across the country, estimating that he has almost 200 tucked into his store, known simply as the Tawakal store, and a storage room in the back.
"We have guns, knives, swords. Everything is historical," the barefoot, toothless smiling firearms expert enthused to Fox News.
Almost every piece has its own intricate insignia, from delicately carved calligraphy in the metal to the famous Afghanistan salpah stone ground into the wood carving. The weapons are all too old to be functional, instead serving as classic decor that he often lends to exhibits across the country.
Tawakal says his favorite is a handmade "Chaq maki," or flintlock in English, that dates back hundreds of years. He offers the homemade muzzle-loading antique for $1,000, but is confident that if he was ever able to export the gun outside the country he could sell it for 10 times that amount.
"Before this gun, Afghans had to fight by the sword," he says, speaking Farsi, Afghanistan's official language. "This was the first. This is what was used to push back the British Army."
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/05/17/antique-gun-store-in-afghanistan-holds-valuable-historic-weapons.html
