Istālif
استالف | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Istalif Village | |
  Istālif Location in Afghanistan | |
| Coordinates: 34°50′N 69°6′E / 34.833°N 69.100°E | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Province | Kabul Province |
| District | Istalif District |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 |
Istālif (Pashto and Dari: استالف) is a mostly Tajik village 29 kilometres (18 mi) northwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, situated at an elevation of 1,693 metres (5,554 ft)[1] in the Shomali Plains, west of Kalakan and south-west of Bagram. It is the center of Istalif District, Kabul Province, Afghanistan.
Istalif is most famous for its grapes and handmade pottery. The glaze to create the turquoise color, most associated with pottery from Istalif, comes from the ishkar plant.[2] The Japanese historian and scholar, Mitsukuni Yoshida, visited Istalif in the 1960s in his journey of visiting pottery-making villages in Greater Persia. He identified that Istalif, at the time, had a population of 300 people and 25 kilns.[3] Pottery-making season began in early April, when the people began to gather clay from the mountains and transported it down to the hamlets with donkeys. Pottery making season lasted between May to October.
- ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Geonames database entry. (search) Accessed 2011-05-12.
- ^ "Afghan Potter Shares Story of Artistry and Escape from Taliban to Connecticut | Department of the History of Art".
- ^ Yoshida, Mitsukuni (1972). In search of Persian pottery (in English and Japanese) (1st English ed.). New York: Weatherhill. ISBN 978-0-8348-1510-0.