We can deduce this photographic postcard of the Khyber Pass was taken at some time before 1923, on the evidence of the Annual Report of The Christian and Missionary Alliance of Chicago, Illinois (1922-23), which reads: “The heroism of our pioneer missionaries shames and stirs us. How dare we forget those who are invading Moslem strongholds at the peril of their lives! Can we pray for our paltry needs and forget the missionary who never leaves his home on the frontier of Arabia without giving his wife a farewell kiss, for they both know that, in all probability, some day he will not return? Can we turn away from the secret place of prayer without thinking of those brave young men who are determined to carry the light into a land at the entrance to which is a placard which reads: “It is absolutely forbidden to cross over this border into Afghan territory”?
The borders of Afghanistan were closed following the 1919 War of Independence (aka the Third Anglo-Afghan War).
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This is not the route between Mashad and Herat or between Peshawar and Jalabad, so it must be one of the northern or northwestern frontiers. Any ideas?
Unless there were several such (identical) signs at different border crossings, the evidence of this and other photographs (search Google images) taken in the 20s and 30s identifies the location as the start of the Khyber Pass.
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