A Fort of Nine Towers

Description

Qais Akbar Omar is 29 years old. His young life coincided with one of the most convulsive decades in Afghan history: civil war, the rise of the Taliban, and the arrival of international troops in 2001.

A Fort of Nine Towers – named for the place his parents first sought shelter from war – is the story of Qais’ family and their remarkable survival. A group of tenacious and deeply loving people, when the fighting came they were buffeted from one part of Afghanistan to the next “like kittens in the jaws of a lion”, setting up camp on the plains, in the famous Buddha caves at Banyam, and with Kuchi nomads, before returning finally to Kabul, where they belong.

Recounting this journey, through terror, loss and heartbreak, Qais’ spirit never ceases to shine. This is a book about the power of stories to bring courage, console, and bind a family together, in the face of almost unimaginable odds.

Author Information

Qais Akbar Omar was born in 1982. He is a gifted linguist who trained as a journalist and as a translator for US military and the UN. A Fort of Nine Towers was written in English and will be translated all over the world. He lives in Kabul with his parents and younger siblings.