Afghan flag
Basic facts of Afghanistan
Official name: Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan,
Capital: Kabul,
Area 652,225 sq km, 251,825 sq mi,
Population: 32,738,376 (2008 estimate),
Population density: 51 persons per sq km (2008 estimate)131 persons per sq mi,
Share urban 23 percent (2003 estimate),
Share rural 77 percent,
Largest cities, with population:
Kabul : 2,956,000 (2003 estimate),
Kandahār: 225,500 (1988 estimate),
Herāt: 177,300 (1988 estimate),
Languages:
Afghan Persian (Dari),Pashto,Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) minor languages (primarily Baluchi and Pashai),
Religious affiliations:
Sunni Muslim 84 percent
Shia 15 percent
Other 1 percent,
Life expectancy :
Total 44.2 years (2008 estimate)
Female 44.4 years & Male 44 years
Introduction:
Afghanistan, a country in southwestern Asia that is situated on a landlocked plateau between Iran, Pakistan, China, and several countries in Central Asia. Afghanistan is a rugged place. Rocky Mountains and deserts cover most of the land, with little vegetation anywhere except the mountain valleys and northern plains. The country has hot, dry summers and bitterly cold winters. Kābul is the capital and largest city.
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital and largest city, sits at an elevation of about 1,795 m (5,890 ft) in the Safed Koh mountain range. The city occupies the main approach to the Khyber Pass, an ancient trade route linking Afghanistan with Pakistan.
Friday Mosque in Herat
The 800-year-old Masjid-i-Jami, or Friday Mosque, dominates the old section of Herat, western Afghanistan's largest city and the capital of Herat. Four blue minarets frame the striking blue and white mosque. In recent decades this ancient town has become an international shipping hub, taking advantage of its strategic location near Iran and Turkmenistan.
Afghan Women Shrouded in Burkas
These Afghan women in Herat, northwestern Afghanistan, are wearing full-length veils called burkas. Wearing the burka is part of the ancient custom of purdah, which requires the concealment of women from men. Purdah was revived in recent times by Islamic fundamentalist movements such as the Taliban, which held power in Afghanistan from 1996 until late 2001.
Taliban Troops on the Kabul Front
Taliban forces patrol the front north of Kabul, Afghanistan, during the civil war that ravaged the country in the 1990s. The civil war was fought between the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist movement composed of ethnic Pashtuns, and the Northern Alliance, a coalition of several minority ethnic groups. The Taliban seized control of Kābul in 1996 and controlled most of the country until 2001. Now they are fighting against American forces & coalition forces for Islamic state.
Afghan Sport of Buzkashi
In the town of Mazar-e Sharif, dust clouds almost obscure riders as they play a wild game of buzkashi, a traditional sport popular with the northern ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Buzkashi is played on huge fields-about 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles) long-by two teams of chapandoz, or riders. The object of the game is to transport the boz, the headless body of a calf or goat, from one end of the field to the other. Because the competitors are known to do almost anything to prevent the boz from being moved, the game is very rough.Some afghan children photos
