How the Indiana Jones of carpets became the Rug Man of Doha

 In the pitch black of an Afghan night, a Soviet rocket pounds into a small village, exploding violently and likely claiming dozens of casualties.
Riyaz Bhat, 20 years old and scared beyond belief, is snatched by his guides and dragged into the darkness. Running for his life, he survives another day to continue his mission.
While Afghanistan has long been a land of conflict and intrigue where spies and elite soldiers risk their lives on clandestine operations, Bhat, from Kashmir, is on a far more unusual expedition.
He's here to find the truth about carpets.
As conflict raged around him during the closing months of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1988, Bhat says he made a perilous weeks-long odyssey across the country to learn rug-making secrets guarded by nomads for centuries.
His quest took him via bus, jeep, horse and foot over treacherous terrain in the company of ruthless mujahedin resistance warriors. His travels were mostly at night to avoid Soviet forces.

Source: Edition.cnn