Drive past the Maiwand Traffic Circle in Kabul towards the mountain and you’ll find Shir Bazaar and some of the instrument makers who have once again set up their shops. Previously this area close to Kharabat Street was a hive of musical activity. Shattered by the wars and suppressed by the Taliban’s restrictions on music, the musicians and instrument makers either went abroad or changed their profession. The trickle of returnees have now scattered all over Kabul, but a few whose homes were on the edges of the Kharabat area are now repairing instruments, making new ones and teaching music. Rebab maker Mohammad Yousef Kadari stayed in Pakistan for 10 years. In March 2002 he returned to his family’s workshop in Kabul to start again. It’s easy to find the ‘toot’ wood on which the quality of the instrument depends. His family has been making instruments for 300 years in the same workshop, which measures two and a half by one and a half metres. Above his head is a photograph of his father making a rebab. Little has changed. His father apprenticed in India, which had the highest quality of craftsmanship at the time. Making instruments is a family secret and Kadari will pass this skill on to his own son. He has made rebabs for Ghulam Seine, who is a well-known teacher. A rebab can cost $200 or more depending on the amount of mother of pearl used and the intricacy of the carvings. Known for their superb workmanship, some rebab carvers have even been hired to make beautiful wood interiors for new houses being reconstructed in the old town.