sightseeing

Bala Hissar

Experience great views over Kabul by following the ancient city walls leading from Bala Hissar, an ancient fortress, up the mountainside. The fortress was rebuilt in the 19th century after the British army saw that it was all but destroyed it in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Bamiyan

Visit Bamiyan, the main town near the Hindu Kush. The second- to fifth-century Great Buddhas were destroyed here to international outcry in 2001.

Hindu Kush

Marvel at the Hindu Kush, a wild and remote region consisting of two huge mountain ranges. Although travelling by car is possible, the steepness of the routes makes vehicles prone to breakdowns. For those who make the journey, the mountains, valleys and lakes provide stunning scenery.

Kabul Museum

Though the museum's contents have been dramatically depleted over the years, there is still a good amount of artefacts on display, including Graeco-Bactrian Buddha statues, and a marble basin from Kandhar often referred to as Buddha's Begging Bowl.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUop_HUagM1DWP8LTEZSs-9gSzaupG3_9TfcCaH3uebFwyRUbMKwRd8681_YZwIis0-eHrTgUULeSgmXKYuzyqJ4UlYPt3w-KE5yCySYU5-SE9M19KxphnYVUzq8LAX9HEpwkKl8aQsIUH/s1600/bala+hissar.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Afghanistan_Statua_di_Budda_1.jpg/250px-Afghanistan_Statua_di_Budda_1.jpg
http://www.livius.org/a/1/alexander/hindu_kush.jpg
http://www.kabulguide.net/kbl-photostory-kabulmuseum_files/image002.jpg

sports

The most popular sport in Afghanistan is Buzkashi, a team sport played on horseback.  The steppers' people were skilled riders who could grab a goat or calf from the ground while riding a horse at full gallop. The goal of a player is to grab the carcass of a headless goat or calf and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line or into a target circle or vat.



The second most popular sport is football, followed by cricket. Cricket gained popularity in early 2002, when Afghan refugees who had lived in Pakistan (where cricket is very popular) returned home and brought the sport with them. In fact, Afghanistan and Oman shared the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Twenty20 Cup in November 2007, an event that featured 10 Asian nations, and on April 9, 2010, they defeated Nepal to win the ACC Trophy Elite.



A lot has changed since the fall of the Taliban for Afghan sports and athletes.  For instance, now more women have taken up various types of sports such martial arts, and boxing.  On December 29, 2007, a bodybuilding club for women was inaugurated in Parwan province. During the dark rule of the Taliban, participation by both men and women in many sports were restricted, and buzkashi was even banned. Instead, the Taliban used Kabul's sports stadium to carry out public executions.

http://www.afghan-web.com/sports/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzkashi
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/wp-content/uploads/afghan-cricket-404_673323c.jpg

agriculture

Only a very small share of Afghanistan's land (about 15 percent) is suitable for farming; about 6 percent of the land is actually cultivated. At least two-thirds of this farmland requires irrigation. Water is drawn from springs and rivers and is distributed through surface ditches and through underground channels, or tunnels, which are excavated and maintained by a series of vertical shafts.



Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley, corn, and rice. Cotton is another important and widely cultivated crop. Fruit and nuts are among Afghanistan's most important exports. Afghanistan is noted for its unusually sweet grapes and melons, grown mostly in the southwest, north of the Hindu Kush, and in the fertile regions around Herat. Raisins are also an important export. Other important fruits are apricots, cherries, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates.



Livestock is nearly as important as crops to Afghanistan's economy. Karakul sheep are raised in large numbers in the north. The tight curly fleece of Karakul lambs is used to make Persian lamb coats. Other breeds of sheep, such as the fat-tailed sheep, and goats are also raised.
Afghanistan is a major supplier in the international drug trade. It is the second-largest opium producer after Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), with 950 metric tons produced in 1994.

http://www.afghanistans.com/information/economy/Agriculture.htm
http://www.fas.usda.gov/country/Afghanistan/us-afghanistan.asp
http://www.geocities.jp/kyouhanshinbun/afghanistan-agriculture.jpg
 http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_1217_harvest_afghanistan_m.jpg

climate

The climate is typical of an arid or semiarid steppe, with cold winters and dry summers. The mountain regions of the northeast are subarctic with dry and cold winters. In the mountains bordering Pakistan, a divergent fringe effect of the monsoon, generally coming from the southeast, brings tropical air masses that determine the climate between July and September. At times, these air masses advance into central and southern Afghanistan, bringing increased humidity and some rain. On the intermountain plateaus the winds do not blow very strongly, but in the Sistan Basin there are severe blizzards that occur during the winter, generally December through February. In the western and southern regions a northerly wind, known as the "wind of 120 days," blows during the summer months of June to September. This wind is usually accompanied by intense heat, drought, and sand storms. Dust and whirlwinds frequently occur during the summer months on the flats in the southern part of the country. Temperature and precipitation are controlled by the exchange of air masses. The highest temperatures and the lowest precipitation prevail in the drought-ridden, poorly watered southern plateau region, which extends over the boundaries with Iran and Pakistan. The Central Mountains, with higher peaks ascending toward the Pamir Knot, represent another distinct climatic region. From the Koh-e Baba Range to the Pamir Knot, January temperatures may drop to -15 C or lower in the highest mountain areas; July temperatures vary between 0 and 26 C depending on altitude. In the mountains the annual mean precipitation, much of which is snowfall, increases eastward and is highest in the Koh-e Baba Range, the western part of the Pamir Knot, and the Eastern Hindukush. Precipitation in these regions and the eastern monsoon area is about forty centimeters per year. The eastern monsoon area encompasses patches in the eastern border area with Pakistan, in irregular areas in eastern Afghanistan from north of Asmar to just north of Darkh-e Yahya, and occasionally as far west as the Kabul Valley. The Wakhan Corridor, however, which has temperatures ranging from 9 C in the summer to below -21 C in the winter, receives fewer than ten centimeters of rainfall annually. Permanent snow covers the highest mountain peaks. In the mountainous region adjacent to northern Pakistan, the snow is often more than two meters deep during the winter months. Valleys often become snow traps as the high winds sweep much of the snow from mountain peaks and ridges. Precipitation generally fluctuates greatly during the course of the year in all parts of the country. Surprise rainstorms often transform the episodically flowing rivers and streams from puddles to torrents; unwary invading armies have been trapped in such flooding more than once in Afghanistan's history. Nomadic and seminomadic Afghans have also succumbed to the sudden flooding of their camps. http://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/35.htm http://www.tear.org.au/advocacy/campaigns/climate-change/afghanistan/

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/world/2001/afghanistan-climate.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stark_contrasts_in_Afghanistan_-_080907-F-0168M-071.jpg

religion

The official religion in Afghanistan is Islam, which is practiced by over 99% of its citizens. Sunni Islam makes up 80-89% of the total population while the remaining 10-19% are Shi'as. And about 1% or less practice other religions. Hinduism is said to have been in Afghanistan since its existence, while Sikhs were brought by the British. A small number of people who practice other religions may also be found in the country.

Minority religious group
-Shia Islam
-Zoroastrians
-Hindus and Sikhs
-Bahá'í Faith
-Christianity
-Judaism


Abdul Rahman Mosque in Kabul, which is the largest mosque in Afghanistan.


https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Afghanistan

education

Education in Afghanistan includes K-12 and Higher education, which is supervised by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. Since 2002, it is going through a nationwide rebuilding process and despite some setbacks due to the ongoing Taliban insurgency the education sector has been improving as new educational institutions are established and more students being enrolled. As of 2011, there were 8.2 million students in Afghanistan, a country which has about 26 million people living in it.

-literacy rate

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 28.1%

male: 43.1%

female: 12.6% (2000 est.)

-school life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 9 years

male: 11 years

female: 7 years (2009)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Afghanistan

health

Health in Afghanistan is in need of improvement due to the country being in a state of civil war for the last three decades. According to the Human Development Index, Afghanistan is the 15th least developed country in the world. The Ministry of Public Health deals with matters concerning the health of Afghanistan's population.After Operation Enduring Freedom in late 2001, when the United Nations began focusing on the situation in Afghanistan, improvement slowly began in the health care system of the country.According to USAID, infant mortality rate has decreased by 22% and child mortality has dropped by 26% since 2003. It was reported in 2006 that nearly 60% of the population lives within two hours walking distance of the nearest health facility, up from nine percent in 2002. The average life expectancy at birth was reported in the past at about 47 years but has risen to as high as 64 for both sexes.


・Maternal and Child Health Care

In June 2011, the United Nations Population Fund released a report, which contained new data on the midwifery workforce and policies relating to newborn and maternal mortality for 58 countries.Afghanistan has more than 3,000 midwives with an additional 300 to 400 being trained each year. According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Health about 1 in 50 women die while giving birth and the number of children who died before the age of 5 is about 1 in 10. According Sima Ayubi, a maternity doctor in Kabul who advocates hospital births, explains: "Now pregnant women have more information about health. This mortality rate is still a problem. There's just a decrease. The problem is not completely eliminated or under control."
A 2008 study by Future Health Systems and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicated that only 13% of respondents had used skilled birth attendants, well below the average of other countries.
The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Afghanistan was 1,400. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births was 201 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality was 27. The aim of this report was to highlight ways in which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved, particularly Goal 4 – Reduce child mortality and Goal 5 – improve maternal death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_in_Afghanistan

politics

The politics of Afghanistan consists of the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly, with a president serving as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military. The nation is currently led by the Karzai administration under President Hamid Karzai who is backed by two vice presidents, Mohammed Fahim and Karim Khalili. In the last decade the politics of Afghanistan have been heavily influenced by NATO countries, especially by the United States, in an effort to stabilise and democratise the country. In 2004, the nation's new constitution was adopted and an executive was president elected. The following year a general election to choose parliamentarians took place.The current president Hamid Karzai was declared the first ever democratically elected head of state in Afghanistan in 2004, winning a second five-year term in 2009. The National Assembly is Afghanistan's national legislature. It is a bicameral body, composed of the House of the People and the House of Elders. The first legislature was elected in 2005 and the current one in 2010. Members of the Supreme Court were appointed by the president to form the judiciary. Together, this new system is to provide a new set of checks and balances that was unheard of in the country.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/politics.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Afghanistan

Anglo-Afghan War

The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asiabetween the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst setbacks inflicted on British power in the region after the consolidation of British Raj by the East India Company. It is considered one of Britain's worst disasters in Asia before Japan's invasion of Malaya and capture of Singapore during World War II. Often un-emphasised is the fact that most of the British troops and casualties were Indian.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Kha of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in the Treaty of Gandamak after attaining all the British geopolitical objectives. Most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. The Afghan were permitted to maintain internal sovereignty but they had to cede control of their nation's foreign relations to the British.

The Third Anglo-Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. It was a minor tactical victory for the British. For the British, the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the political boundary between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India and the Afghans agreed not to foment trouble on the British side. In the aftermath, the Afghans were able to resume the right to conduct their own foreign affairs as a fully independent state.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Afghan_War

history

50,000 BCE-20,000 BCE

• Archaeologists have identified evidence of stone age technology in Aq Kupruk. North Afghanistan was one of the earliest places to domestic plants and animals.  

3000 BCE-2000 BCE

• Bronze have been invented.
• First true urban centers rise in two main sites in Afghanistan: Mundigak, and Deh Morasi Ghundai.
• Mundigak had an economic base of wheat, barley, sheep and goats. Mudigak could have been a provincial capital of the Indus valley civilization.
• Ancient Afghanistan crossroads between Mesopotamia, and other Civilizations.

2000 BCE- 1500 BCE

• Aryan tribes in Aryana (Ancient Afghanistan) .
• The City of Kabul have been established.
• Rig Veda have been created in Afghanistan.

600 BCE  

• Zoroaster introduces a new religion in Bactria dies during nomadic invasion near Balkh.

522 BCE-486 BCE

• Darius the Great expands the Achaemenid (Persian) empire to its peak, when it takes most of Afghanistan including Aria (Herat), Bactriana (Balk, and present-day Mazar-i-Shariff), Margiana (Merv), Gandhara (Kabul, Jalalabad and Peshawar), Sattagydia (Ghazni to the Indus river), Arachosia (Kandahar, and Quetta), and Drangiana (Sistan).
• The Persian empire was plagued by constant bitter and bloody tribal revolts from Afghans living in Arachosia.

329BCE-326 BCE

• After conquering Persia, Afghanistan is invaded by Alexander the Great. Alexander conquers Afghanistan, but fails to really subdue its people.

323 BCE

• Greeks rule Bactria (Northern Afghanistan)

1140- Ghorid leaders from central Afghanistan capture and burn Ghazni. 1219- Invasion of Afghanistan by Genghis Khan. Destruction of Irrigation systems by Genghis Khan, which turned fertile soil into permanent deserts. 1273- Marco Polo crossed Afghan Turkistan. 1736- Nadir Shah (head of Persia) occupies southwest Afghanistan, and southeast Persia.

1832-1833

• Persia moves into Khurasan, and threatens Herat. Afghans defend Herat successfully.

1834-

• Afghans lose Peshawar to the Sikhs; later they crushed the Sikhs under the leadership of Akbar Khan who defeated the Sikhs near Jamrud, and killed the great Sikh general Hari Singh. However, they failed to retake Peshawar due to disunity and bad judgment on the part of Dost Mohammad Khan.

1839-1842

• First Anglo-Afghan War.
• After some resistance, Amir Dost Mohammad Khan surrenders to the British and is deported to India.
• Shah Shuja is installed as a "puppet king" by the British.
• April 1842-Shah Shuja killed by Afghans.
• Afghans passionately continue their struggle against the British.
• Akbar Khan-Afghan hero--victorious against the British.

1845-

• Afghan hero, Akbar Khan dies.

1873

• Russia established a fixed boundary between Afghanistan and it's new territories.
• Russia promises to respect Afghanistan's territorial integrity.

1878

• Start of second Anglo-Afghan War
• The British invade and the Afghans quickly put up a strong resistance.

1921-

• Third Anglo-Afghan war
• Once again, the British are defeated, and Afghanistan gains full control of her foreign affairs.

1934-

• The United States of America formally recognizes Afghanistan

1947-

• Britain withdraws from India. Pakistan is carved out of Indian and Afghan lands.

1954-

• The U.S. rejects Afghanistan's request to buy military equipment to modernize the army.

1961-

• Pakistan and Afghanistan come close to war over Pashtunistan.

1994--

• The Taliban militia are born, and advance rapidly against the Rabbani government.
• Dostum and Hekmatyar continued to clash against Rabbani's government, and as a result Kabul is reduced to rubble.

1995--

• Massive gains by the Taliban.
• Increased Pakistani and Iranian interference.

1996--

• June--Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, head of Hezbi-Islami, having been eliminated as a military power, signs a peace pact with Rabbani, and returns to Kabul to rule as prime minister.
• September 27--Taliban militia force President Rabbani and his government out of Kabul. After the capture of Kabul, the Taliban execute Najibullah.
• Alliance between Government, Hezbi Wahdat, and Dostum
• Oppression of women by the Taliban--women must be fully veiled, no longer allowed to work, go out alone or even wear white socks. Men are forced to grow beards. Buzkashi, the Afghan national sport is outlawed.
• Tensions rise as Afghan government accuse Pakistan of aiding the Taliban.
• Massive human rights violations by the Taliban.

1997--

• Mass graves of Taliban soldiers containing between 1,500 and 2,000 bodies are found. The men were believed to have been captured in May by general Abdul Malik during the Taliban's brief takeover of Mazar-i-Sharif.

1998--

• February--Earthquake strikes in northeastern Afghansitan, killing over 4,000 people, destroying villages and leaving thousands of people homeless.
• August--Taliban finally capture Mazar-i-Sharif, and massacre thousands of innocent civilians afterwards, mostly Hazaras.
• August 20th--United States launches cruise missles hitting Afghanistan's Khost region.  US states its intent was to destroy so called terrorist bases/training facilities used by Osama bin Laden and his followers. Some Afghan civilians are also killed.
• September--Tensions rise between Iran and the Taliban.  Iranians are angry about the killing of their diplomats and a journalist by the Taliban when they captured Mazar-i-Sharif.  Soon they deploy 70,000 troops to carry out military exercises near the Afghan border.  In the end, no fighting occurs between the Taliban and the Iranian army.

1999--

• February--Earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan, affecting over 30,000 people, and killing at least 60 to 70 people.
• September--The ex-king of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, calls for a grand assembly, or Loya Jirga to discuss ways of bringing peace to the country. The United Front soon welcomes the idea, but the Taliban ridicule Mohammad Zahir Shah's attempts at establishing peace.
• October-- UN Security Council Resolution 1267 is adopted; sanctions against the Taliban on grounds that they offered sanctuary to Osama bin Ladin.

2000--

• May--Taliban torture and kill civilians in the Robatak Pass
  (on the border between Baghlan and Samangan provinces).
• September--Taloqan finally falls to the Taliban.
• December-- UN Security Council Resolution 1333 is adopted; additional sanctions against the Taliban for their continuing support of terrorism and cultivation of narcotics, etc. 

2001--

• January--Taliban torture and kill numerous civilians (Hazaras) in Yakaolang.

2002-

• April-- Former King Mohammad Zahir returns to Afghanistan (April) -- does not claim throne.
• War continues against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
• June-- Loya Jirga elects Hamid Karzai as President of a Transitional Government. Karzai picks members of his administration to serve until elections are held in 2004
• July-- Haji Abdul Qadir (brother of Abdul Haq) is killed. US air raid in Uruzgan province kills approximately 48 civilians, many of them members of a wedding party

2003--

• War against Al Qaeda and the Taliban continue -- further weakened.
• August - NATO takes control of security in Kabul.

2004--

• January-- Afghanistan adopts a new constitution.  The country is now a republic with 3 branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary).

2005--

• Harsh winter leaves hundreds of people dead.
• Major advances in the disarmament process announced.
• March-- Dostum appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Commander of the Armed Forces. Yunis Qanuni announces new political alliance (March 31st). 
• April-- Karzai welcomes the formation of Qanuni's political alliance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Afghanistan
http://www.afghan-web.com/history/chron/index4.html