Afghanistan
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At a glance
- Region
- Southern Asia
- Capital
- Kabul
- Population
- 42.6 million (2024)
- Area
- 652,230 km²
- Languages
- Dari, Pashto, Turkmen
- Currency
- Afghan afghani (AFN)
- Drives on the
- right
- Calling code
- +93
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Before you go
Overview
It is a landlocked country situated in central of south Asia. The largest and capital city is Kabul. By 2018 the country recorded a population of 37.17 million with an area of 652,864 km2.
Kabul is famous for its gardens, bazaars and palaces. Jalalabad is a beautiful city in the east with green environment, plenty of water and is the capital of Nangarhar Province. It has a magnificent architecture; the Mausoleum of King Amanullah and Nangarhar University.
The Blue Mosque at Mazār-e Sharīf, Afghanistan.
History
It declared independence on 19th August 1919 from British. In the 1980s, the Soviet army fought a guerrilla battle against the socialist government claiming more than a million lives. Taliban grabbed power over Kabul and introduced strict Islam rule. On 7th October 2001, USA invaded Afghanistan against their September attack which killed 3,000 people. Taliban was overthrown from Kabul since he had declined handing over Osama bin Laden to the USA government. The country was controlled by NATO in 2002 who maintained peace in it. NATO ended its role in ending the war in Afghanistan in 2014 and handed the role to the Afghan soldiers. Ashraf Ghani became the president the same year.
Food & culture
The culture of Afghanistan is mostly influenced by the Islam religion, for example, the practice of polygamy is allowed.
The main source of livelihood for Afghans is Agriculture. The main exports include fruits and nuts. Other crops cultivated are wheat, barley, corn, rice and cotton. The country is known for its pomegranates. The main dish is Kabuli pulao.
Wildlife
Afghanistan has a variety of animals for tourist attraction such as snow leopard, Siberian deer, Asiatic black bear, grey wolf, brown bears, striped hyenas, Marco Polo sheep, foxes, mongooses and jackals.
Festivals & events
The New Year celebration is called Nau Roz and is celebrated on 21st March. It involves playing buzkashi, wrestling, preparing traditional food and going on family occasions.
Other major festivals celebrated are Eid al-Fitr, Eid e Qurban, Ramadan, Ashura and Eid al-Adha.
Things to see
The National Museum of Afghanistan exhibits artefacts of the ancient times, it has built gardens for visitors to take a walk and relax on.
Other places worth visiting are Buddha of Bamyan, Mosque of the Sacred Cloak and Blue Mosque.
Herat city has historic sites such as the Heart Citadel and Musalla Complex.
Interesting facts
The inhabitants of Afghanistan are called Afghans and their official languages are Pashto and Dari.
The state religion is Sunni Islam.
The national sport is buzkashi which involves playing while on horseback; football and cricket are also popular
