Afghanistan - Tourism and Travel

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a country in Central Asia.

It has an area of 251,825 square miles (652,225 square kilometers).

The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul.

Afghanistan has a presidential system of government.

The official currency is the afghani, which equals 100 puls.

Afghanistan has been experiencing war since 1979, when the country was invaded by the Soviet Union. Pakistan and the United States supported the anti-Sovet, Muslim mujahideen guerrilla forces.

Afterwards, different factions engaged in Civil War.

After the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, troops led by the US launched a war in Afghanistan against the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime.

Geography and Climate

Afghanistan is a landlocked country.

The terrain of Afghanistan is dominated by the Hindu Kush Mountains in the northeast, which spread west and south to form many mountains spurs. More than half of the land in the Hindu Kush region is more than 6,500 feet (2,000 meters) above sea level.

This region is very dry and largely uninhabitable.

There were once two giant statues of Buddha carved in rock near Bamian, a town in the Hindu Kush, west of Kabul. The larger statue was 125 feet (38 meters high). The Taliban destroyed these statues in March 2001.

Debris-covered slopes known as glacis can be found at the bases of mountains in Afghanistan. These structures lead to salt flats or deserts and can be found at bases of mountains in dry regions of the world.

In southwestern Afghanistan, there is a dry plateau that extends into Pakistan.

Afghanistan has a dry continental climate.

Mountain chains that run southwest from the Hindu Kush into Pakistan block out winds from the Indian Ocean, making southern Afghanistan very arid.

People

28,150,000 people live in Afghanistan.

38% are Pashtun, 25% are Tajik, 19% are Hazara, and 15% are either Uzbek or Turkmen.

Pashtu and Dari are official languages. Other languages spoken include, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen and Farsi.

84% of the people are Sunni Muslim and 15% are Shi'a Muslim.

Economy

The economy of Afghanistan is based primarily on livestock rearing and farming.

Wheat is the main staple crop.

Industry is not very well developed and consists mostly of traditional crafts, including carpet-making and the processing of agricultural raw materials.

Three decades of war have severely disrupted the economy.