Afghan Caravan

Traditionally it was the custom of Afghan caravan-drivers to adorn their camels with bunches of ribbon, tassels, fringes and an array of good-luck charms, before embarking on their hazardous desert pilgrimage. They intended by the liberal use of these decorative symbols both to pay homage to their camels as custodians of their journey and to place them under the protection of God. For the spirits that haunted the wilderness were reputed to be evil.

Today this tradition has survived in the form of paintings and flowers which festoon the sides of the Afghan truck. The driver and his mate are conditioned to a hard, lonely, even painful life, but its austerity is brightened by the dazzling exterior decor of the truck. Flowers transform it into a moving oasis: with rows of tulips and bouquets of roses clinging to its sides, the Afghan truck is like a traveling art gallery wending its way through arid mountains and deserts.

see the book:
Afghan Trucks
Jean-Charles Blanc
Stonehill
1976
source