GELAREH KIAZAND: So here, we're at the dog fights.

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: He's saying, it's wrong, it is bad.

Whatever people may think, I love it, and I'm going to do

it until the day I die.

Because that's my addiction.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GELAREH KIAZAND: When you think of gambling, you think

of Las Vegas and tacky slot machines.

And when you think of Afghanistan, you think of its

reputation for corruption, its never-ending

wars, and the Taliban.

But in spite of all this, the men of Kabul have found refuge

in a world of quail fighting parlors and dusty

dog fighting circles.

We're going to explore this culture of illicit gambling

and see how the men of Kabul thrive in a realm of sport

that defies Islam.

We're going to Marshal Fahim's gardens.

This is really exciting.

We just got a phone call saying that there might be a

buzkashi game on today.

So we're on our way there now, and hopefully we can see the

game and maybe talk to his spokesperson.

Buzkashi is the national sport of Afghanistan.

It's a lot like polo, but instead of a ball, they play

with a headless goat carcass.

The sport is legal, but all the side betting that the

crowds take part in is not.

And since Afghanistan's vice president, Marshal Mohammed

Fahim, was hosting the game at his estate, it was a bit

tricky for us to get in.

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: All right, so we got in, and then we got

sent out again.

Because today, Mr. Fahim decided to

show up to the game.

And with Fahim, they're not going to be allowing just

anyone-- especially a foreigner, a

woman, with a camera.

Kabul is the center of this gambling world.

But since betting is illegal, reputation is very important.

It was unlikely that they were going to allow an Iranian

woman into the bettor's circle,

especially with a camera.

So we had to find some one people trusted, an old-timer--

Dardar.

We're in West Kabul right now.

We're to meet Mr. Samad Dardar.

He's an 80-year-old man who, back in the days, they called

him The Gangster, because of all the fights

he used to get into.

He's a very, very hard man to get a hold of.

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: So he was just angry that I didn't know

him that well.

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

ABDUL SAMAD DARDAR: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: Thursday morning--

our first in.

We get a phone call from Dardar.

8:00 AM, there will be a quail fight 20

minutes outside of Kabul.

We're at Saleh Dezama's cafe.

It's away from all the craze of the city.

They're very strict on the people they let in.

They don't just let anyone in.

During the Talib times, obviously this place was

closed down, and no one would come here.

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: The Taliban banned the sport, largely

because the fights were community-driven and brought a

wide spectrum of influential men together that could form

alliances dangerous to the regime.

So head of the circle is sitting there with the white

bag in front of him.

I'm trying to get people to put more birds out or fight a

bit, because they're a bit reluctant in

front of the camera.

Everyone here pretty much has a bird with them.

They usually fight for a couple hours.

They sell them behind here in case you don't have one.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GELAREH KIAZAND: So what they're doing right now is,

they go around and they start comparing the different quails

to each other.

So what they have to do is, they have to

get the same weight.

And then, once they pick, then they come out in the middle.

So how does a bird win?

One quail has to push the other out of the ring, or in

this case, close to the edge of the carpet.

When a quail is pushed out of the ring, or simply flees,

it's game over.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GELAREH KIAZAND: After the first couple rounds, the

betting slowed down.

The Taliban were known for targeting animal fights and

gambling rings when they were in power.

And even now, the bettors were nervous about being caught

gambling on camera.

The owner noticed, and told us to turn off our cameras.

Yeah, they want us to leave.

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

GELAREH KIAZAND: [SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

GELAREH KIAZAND: I was just asking why they're not

bringing their women to the fights.

He's like, no, she has to stay at home.

-[SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE]

[MUSIC PLAYING]