General information about Afghanistan

Culture and Traditions

• Afghanistan’s culture has been around for millennium since Arab-Muslim conquest.
• Different regions in the country have their own unique traditions reflecting the characters of the specific nation.
• Traces of pre-Islamic traditions from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism.
• Afghanistan has been a cross road for Pakistan, Iran, and middle east which has influenced its culture.
• Hand crafts are one of the crucial sector of our arts but the art of making carpets and rugs are world wide prominent for centuries.
• Also Afghanistan is known for making beautiful and oriented rugs.
• Afghan carpets with certain prints make them unique.

Carpets:

Music:

• Being In Asia Afghanistan has been influenced by eastern music.
• Kabul (the capital of Afghanistan) has long been the regional cultural capital.
• Herat’s (a province) music has been praised widely, which is more closely related to Iranian music.
• Afghanistan had terrific musicians who were warmly welcomed by the Indian expert musician and were named as “Baba e Mosiqe” (Father of music)

Peotry:

• Afghan poems are mostly written in Dari and in Pashto.
• The most famous forms of poetry are:
  Ghazal and Charbaiti
• We had world famous persian poets.
• Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi has world wide fame.

Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi (1207-1273)

National Dress of Afghanistan:

Afghan's National Game "Buzkashi":


Architecture:
UNESCO has acknowledged Afghanistan role by declaring the “Minaret of Jam” and the “Bamyan Valley"


Historical Places of Afghanistan:
Ghazni Province


Bamyan Province:


Herat Province (Jame Jam):

General information about Afghanistan

General Introduction:
•National Name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanistan
•Total Area: 250,000 sq mi (647,500 sq km)
•Population (2008 est.): 32,738,376 (Growth rate 2.6%)
•Monetary unit: Afghani
•Independence: 19th, August 1919
•Religion: A Muslim country
•Birth Rate: 45.8/1000
•Infant mortality rate: 154.6/1000
•Life expectancy: 44.2
•Literacy rate: 28.1 (2000 est.)


Located in central Asia and bordered by six countries.

China (76 km)

Iran (936 km)

Pakistan (2,430 km)

Tajikistan (1,206 km)

Turkmenistan (744 km)

Uzbekistan (137 km)

Capital of Afghanistan

History

• Afghanistan has more than 5000 years of history.
• YAMA was the entrepreneur of Great Ariana and the first King.
• During the 8th century in the Abu Muslim khurasani’s era it was named as “Khurasan”.
• In 1748 during the Ahmad Shah Abdali’s era “Khurasan” was named as “Afghanistan”.

Afghan-Great Britain Wars

• The first Afghan and Great Britain war 1838 -1857.
• The second Afghan and Great Britain war was in 1879.
• After the death of Amir Habibullah Khan third war started.
• Amir Amanullah Khan got independence in 1919.

Soviet Union Invasion

• Soviet Union invaded in 1979 and installed a Communist government.
• From 1979-1989, Afghanistan became a battleground of the Cold Wars between the USSR and “Mujahideen”.
• Soviet Union withdrew in 1989, but civil war erupted among factions of fighters known as 'mujahedin‘.

The link between September 11th and Afghanistan

• Afghans did NOT carry out the terrorist attacks on the U.S.
• Afghanistan Al-Qaeda, a terrorist network operating within and other places, did
• Many Afghans expressed their solidarity with the people of the U.S. after Sept. 11
• After September 11, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban for sheltering Al Qaeda, a terrorist network.
• U.S. and NATO forces remain in Afghanistan today.

The currency of Afghanistan is "Afghani"