AFGHANISTAN - Glaubst du, wir sind bezwingbar? Dies ist die Heimat der Löwen.

There is hardly a country in the world where splendor and tragedy form such an astonishing harmony as in Afghanistan. This land of astounding beauty and proud people embodies everything that is inexplicable to our society: radical Islam, lawlessness, tribal rules, traditionalism and a seeming lust for endless war. Afghanistan is the tombstone of Western and Eastern empires, a bastion of resistance to everything new and modern, home to the dreaded Taliban. And yet it is also a country with breathtaking landscapes, legendary history and multi-layered societies whose many often hidden facets are impossible to understand from the outside.

Photographer and journalist Gianluca Pardelli has traveled the country extensively since 2009 and now wants to bring us closer to this untamed homeland of brave fighters and gentle souls.