A day spent ad-hoccing in the alleys around Kabul’s Pul-e Khishti Mosque, led to this quiet cul-de-sac selling sewing machines and small arms – the thematic cluster perhaps due to the same skills to fix and repair. Or maybe it makes for a great his-n-her shopping experience.

The cost of tooling up? A new pump action shotgun for 4,900 Afghanis (67 Euro), automatic weapons from 9,800 Afghanis (134 Euro) with highly specced models rising to ten times that sum. Mostly imported from Russia, you’d want to know your gear before putting down hard cash – the risk of buying a fake is very real. As is local custom the guests are invited onto a corner of carpet for a cup of green tea before being taken through the various purchase options.