Tourism
Afghanistan. Officially, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is known as the Heart of Asia. The country is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Covering an area of 652,864 square kilometres (252,072 sq mi), the country is mainly mountainous with plains in the north and southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country’s largest city and serves as the capital. According to the World Population Review, as of 2021, Afghanistan’s population was 40.2 million. The National Bureau of Statistics of Afghanistan estimated the population at 32.9 million as of 2020.
Human settlement in Afghanistan dates back to the Middle Ages. It is commonly referred to as the Graveyard of Empires. The land has historically been home to a variety of peoples and has witnessed numerous military campaigns, including those by the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Mauryan Empire, Arab Muslims, Mongols, the British, the Soviet Union, and a US-led coalition. Afghanistan also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians and Mughals, among others, emerged to establish great empires. [30] Various conquests and periods in the cultural realms of Iran and India made the region a center for Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and later Islam. The modern state of Afghanistan began in the 18th century with the Durrani Afghan Empire, [34] although Dost Mohammad Khan is sometimes considered the founder of the first modern Afghan state. Dost Mohammad died in 1863, a few days after his final campaign to unify Afghanistan, and as a result, Afghanistan was plunged back into civil war. During this period, Afghanistan became a buffer state in the Great Game between the British Empire and the Russian Empire. From India, the British attempted to bring Afghanistan under their control but were repulsed in the First Anglo-Afghan War. However, the Second Anglo-Afghan War witnessed a British victory and a resurgence of British political influence. After the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, Afghanistan was freed from foreign political domination and emerged as the independent Kingdom of Afghanistan under Amanullah Khan in June 1926. The monarchy lasted for almost half a century until Zahir Shah was overthrown in 1973, after which the Republic of Afghanistan was established.
Since the late 1970s, Afghanistan’s history has been marked by widespread conflict, including coups, invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars. The conflict began in 1978 when a communist revolution established a socialist state, and subsequent internal fighting led to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The mujahideen fought against the Soviets during the Soviet–Afghan War and continued to fight among themselves after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. The Islamic fundamentalist Taliban controlled much of the country until 1996, but their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan gained little international recognition before being overthrown in the 2001 US invasion. The Taliban returned to power in 2021 after capturing Kabul and overthrowing the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ending the 2001–2021 war. In September 2021, the Taliban re-established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Taliban government remains internationally unrecognized.
Capital
The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul.
Population
Afghanistan has a diverse population that includes different ethnic groups, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and others.
Languages
Pashto and Dari are the official languages.
Religion
Islam is the dominant religion, with most Afghans being Sunni Muslims.
Afghanistan is rich in natural resources, including lithium, iron, zinc, and copper. It is the second-largest producer of betel resin, and the third-largest producer of both saffron and cashmere. The country is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and a founding member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Due to the effects of war in recent decades, the country has suffered from terrorism, poverty, and high levels of child malnutrition. Afghanistan remains among the world’s least developed countries, ranking 180th on the Human Development Index. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is $81 billion in purchasing power parity terms and $20.1 billion in nominal terms. Per capita, its GDP is the lowest of any country as of 2020.
History
The Musalla Minarets, which are 55 meters high, are five large ruined minarets in the city of Herat, built by Queen Gohar Shad in 1417.
Afghanistan’s history spans five thousand years, and the Afghan people have contributed to the rise of many Central Asian empires. The ancient centers of culture and civilization were influenced by various outsiders, such as Greece, Arabia, Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. The borders of Afghanistan were established through negotiations with the British in 1893, and provincial governments emerged, replacing tribal rule.
In 1919, Afghanistan gained independence from British occupying forces. From 1919 to 1973, Afghanistan modernized with the help of the international community and built an extensive infrastructure. This period of relative stability ended in 1973.
In 1978 and 1979, a series of coups brought to power a communist government that increasingly leaned toward the Soviet Union, culminating in a Soviet puppet government in Kabul and an invasion by Soviet forces. Throughout the 1980s, the main Afghan resistance movement fought against the invaders.
Geography
The former royal palace of Bagh Bala, located on a hill in Kabul
Afghanistan is located in the heart of Asia, at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. It is a mountainous country located in South Asia and Central Asia. The country is the 40th largest country in the world by area. Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, located in Kabul Province.
The country’s other major cities are Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Nangarhar, Kandahar, and Kunduz. Afghanistan is completely landlocked, bordering Iran to the west (925 km), the Central Asian countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north and northeast (2,380 km), China to the east via the Wakhan Corridor (96 km), and Pakistan to the east and south (2,432 km).
Climate and population
A historic building that survived in different climates
Afghanistan can be considered semi-arid for the most part, but regional variations and climate vary according to altitude. Annual rainfall is low, but the high mountains are the source of many streams and rivers that provide water for cultivation.
Afghanistan is cold in winter. It snows in the central, northern, and northeastern provinces. The eastern provinces are very hot in summer but pleasant in winter. In general, Afghanistan has pleasant weather in summer, and spring in particular is celebrated with warmth throughout the country. It rains a lot in spring, where the rainfall is the same as in summer.
According to a survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the total population of the country is 29.2 million. 14.9 million of the population are male and 14.2 million are female. 20.7 million of the population live in urban areas and 6.9 million live in cities.
People and religions
One of the country's famous mosques
For centuries, Afghanistan has been a mosaic of peoples with diverse cultures, religions, and languages. Afghanistan’s ethnically and linguistically rich and mixed population is located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Southwest Asia. Communities with distinct religions, languages, and ethnic backgrounds have lived side by side for generations. Afghanistan remains a country of vibrant diversity. The main ethnic groups are Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Aimaqs, Balochs, Nuristanis, Pashayis, Barhawis, Arabs, Gujjars, Pamiris, and Qizilbashs.
Pashto and Dari are the official languages of Afghanistan. The Afghan constitution states that all other languages are “official” in areas where they are spoken by the majority of the population. Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80% of the population are Sunni, who follow the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. The rest of the population is predominantly Shia. The country’s religious minorities include Hindus, Sikhs, and a small Jewish community who fled the country during decades of conflict.
Culture and literature
Image: Cambia Press www.cambiapress.com
Artistic activity in Afghanistan dates back to 18000 BC. For centuries, Afghanistan was connected to the civilizations of Iran, India, and China. During the Islamic period, the Ghaznavid and Ghori rulers from the 10th to 12th centuries promoted artistic development. Through the Timurid dynasty, the cultural life of Afghanistan flourished and flourished through the rulers’ high regard for scholars and artists. Timurid’s descendants transformed the city of Herat into a center of cultural activity, inspiring artists such as Abdur Rahman Jami, Abdur Hai, and Kamaluddin Behzad to create beautifully illustrated books and magnificent buildings.
Folktales and legends told through songs and storytelling are a centuries-old tradition in Afghanistan and continue to thrive today. Afghanistan also has a rich literary tradition. During the Middle Ages, literature was written in Dari, Pashto, Turkish, and Arabic. The royal courts of regional empires such as the Samanids, Ghaznavids, Timurids, and Mughals were great patrons of Persian literature, patronizing literary geniuses such as Rumi, Rudaki, Abdullah Ansari, Ferdowsi, and Jami.
