Rabia Arnold 
The region called Afghanistan nowadays was noted for its poetic language even before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in the 7th through 11th centuries. The Pota (Pata) Khazana, contains Pashto poetry written as far back as the 8th Century. Some of the famous poets who were born or lived in the region we call Afghanistan … Read more
The culture of Afghanistan reflects its ancient roots and position as a crossroads for invading ethnic groups and traditions. Little the Afghans make is unattractive; even common grain bags to carry produce to market are often embroidered to make them more beautiful. A camel caravan of nomads often looks like a circus parade, with the … Read more
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Music is represented chiefly by traditional folk songs, ballads, and dances. Among the stringed instruments, the six-stringed rohab is thought to be the ancestor to the Western violin and cello. Other instruments include the santur (a kind of zither), a hand-pumped harmonium, the chang (a plucked mouth harp), and a variety of drums beaten with the palm and fingers. The attan dance … Read more
Afghanistan is shaped roughly like a clenched fist with the thumb extended out to the northeast. Afghanistan covers an area of about 652,090 sq km (about 251,773 sq mi). Its maximum length from east to west is about 1240 km (about 770 mi); from north to south it is about 1015 km (about 630 mi). … Read more
Mountains dominate the landscape, traversing the center of the country, running generally in a northeast-southwest direction. More than 49 percent of the total land area lies above 2,000 meters. Although geographers differ on the division of these mountains into systems, they agree that the Hindukush system, the most important, is the westernmost extension of the … Read more
The population of Afghanistan includes many different ethnic groups. The Pashtuns (Pushtuns), who make up more than half the population, have traditionally been the dominant ethnic group. Their homeland lies south of the Hindu Kush, but Pashtun groups live in all parts of the country. Many Pashtuns also live in northwestern Pakistan, where they are … Read more
Two separate systems of education exist in Afghanistan. The older system is a religious one, taught by the mullahs, who conduct schools in the village mosques. They teach the religious precepts of the Koran, reading, writing, and arithmetic. The other system was introduced in Afghanistan’s 1964 constitution and provided for free and compulsory education at … Read more
Travel within Afghanistan is severely limited by the rugged terrain. The country has less than 25 km (less than 16 mi) of railroad track, all of which is for shipping goods to and from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Petroleum products are piped in from Uzbekistan to Bagram and from Turkmenistan to Shindand. Natural gas … Read more
