Buildings appear well kept and children career down a street on sleds. A close observer might wonder why the coal mine is idle at midday, but it is a minor clue. Drive down the road into Shurab, however, and the reality is immediately apparent. Apartment buildings have been stripped, everything removed, from window glass to wiring. The railroad tracks to the mine are rusted and overgrown with weeds.
City hall is padlocked.
Near the center of town, a restaurant looks as if it had been hit by a bomb. The roof is gone and there is no glass in the windows. The floor lies deep in rubble and an ornate column sprawls across the porch. Murals of dancing women in flowing dresses remain startlingly vibrant. The desolation is ghostly and even the stragglers trying to tough it out add to the sad tableau.