Steve McCurry is a legend of travel and documentary photography. This month, Taschen is releasing Afghanistan (RRP £59.99) by McCurry, which collects 40 years of images taken in the country.
Here we see one of his pictures in which a flock of doves burst to life in front of Mazar-e Sharif’s famous Blue Mosque, the shrine of Hazrat Ali. Revered by Muslims as the tomb of the son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed, this 15th century mosque near the border of Uzbekistan is so named after the cobalt blue and turquoise colours of its minarets and domes.
The white doves provide a symbol of peace, and are fed and cared for by travellers, traders and farmers who come to market, and by residents of the northern region who come to the city to pray at the mosque.
