Thinking of Afghanistan, we could hardly visualize anything beautiful, but war. For a decade and more, this nation has ruled the news features for everything awful. The name Afghanistan has been synonymous with the terms like Taliban and terrorism. Afghanistan has been the focal point of numerous strong and powerful realms for as far back as 2,000 years. Though Afghanistan has spent the most recent 3 decades in the news for all the wrong reasons, after going through the following facts, you will realize that the country is much more than just a war zone. Here are some interesting facts about Afghanistan:
Image: launabeuhler.com
1. Poetry, a Strong Part of the Culture
Poetry is a special part of Afghan culture. Afghans have conveyed their stories in poetry for over 1,000 years. The night of Thursday is regarded “poetry night” in the western city of Herat where men, women & children meet to communicate ancient & modern poetry and listen to the traditional music of Herati and enjoy drinking sweet tea & pastries all night long.
Source: bbc.co.uk, Image: urbantimes.co
2. Wildest National Game
Afghanistan’s national sport is termed as “Buzkashi” or “goat-grabbing.” It is regarded as the wildest game in the world; it requires riders on horseback to compete to catch a goat body, and ride ahead of the others and drop it in a marked circle.
Source: bbc.co.uk, image: wikimedia.org
3. Busiest Single Runway Airstrip
Kandahar airfield situated in the Southern Afghanistan is known to be the World’s single busiest runway airstrip. It is also the location where NATO has its first full air traffic facility in a country not listed in NATO.
Source: bbc.co.uk, Image: qph.ec.quoracdn.net
4. People or Currency?
Do you know ‘Afghanis’ is the currency, not the people? People there are actually called Afghans.
Source: bbc.co.uk, image: wikimedia.org
5. The Royal Founder!
In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani founded the modern state of Afghanistan, and the certified name of Afghanistan is termed as the Islamic State of Afghanistan.
Source: crazyfacts.com, image: Flickr
6. The Signature Food of Afghanistan!
Meal in Afghanistan is incomplete with no ‘naan,’ which is flat, unleavened bread.
Source: lifestyle.iloveindia.com, image: Flickr
7. Naturally Rich
Afghanistan’s natural resources comprise of silver, zinc, gold, copper, & iron ore that are found in the southeast; precious & semi-precious stones in the northeast; and potentially important petroleum & natural gas reserves are found in the north. The country also has uranium, coal, chromites, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, and salt.
Source: lifestyle.iloveindia.com, image: wikimedia.org
8. The land of Opium
Opium is the largest & fastest growing produce in Afghanistan. Between 80 and 90 percent of the heroin sold in Europe comes from opium grown in Afghanistan.
Source:gowierdfacts.com, Image: i.telegraph.co.uk
9. A Muslim Dominant Nation!
Almost 99% of the Afghan inhabitants are Muslims. The rest 1% of the populace includes Hindus, Sikhs, and Jews.
Source:gowierdfacts.com, Image: dawn.com
10. World Famous Rugs
Afghan produces rugs that are very popular around the world.
Source:gowierdfacts.com, image: wikimedia.org
11. Second Tallest in the World
The minaret of Jam in Afghanistan is the second tallest minaret in the world.
Source:gowierdfacts.com, image: wikimedia.org
12. Strictly No – No
Women and men will never shake hands let alone speak directly to one another. Wearing skirts, sleeveless are a strict no-no in Afghanistan.
Source:gowierdfacts.com, Image: wixstatic.com
13. Home to the Mighty Hindu Kush!
Afghanistan is home to the famous Hindu Kush, (It is an 800-kilometre-long mountain range that extends connecting the central Afghanistan & the northern Pakistan) which rises over 18,000 feet.
Source: wikitravel.org, image: wikimedia.org
14. A Landlocked Country!
Afghanistan shares border with as many as six countries, namely Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, China, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, making it a landlocked nation that has no water boundaries
Source: wikitravel.org, Image: csrskabul.com
15. Kandahar to Kabul
Kandahar was the first Capital City of Afghanistan. Later Kabul became the Capital City.
Source: quora.com, image: wikimedia.org
16. Agriculture Based Country
The main supply of income in Afghanistan comes from agriculture. Vegetables, rice, fruits, & nuts are the popular products here.
Source: quora.com, image: wikimedia.org
17. Rich in lapis lazuli
Afghanistan is rich in a vibrant blue stone, called lapis lazuli, which has been used to beautify the tomb of Tutankhamen, the Egyptian king.
Source: quora.com, image: wikimedia.org
18. Greek Impression!
In around 400 BC the Greeks constructed a City at Ai Khanoum, situated in northern Afghanistan, which had one gymnasium, and a theater. The monument had devotions in Greek towards Hercules & Herakles and also had a big figurine to Zeus. It is a Heritage site there.
Source: quora.com, Image: pinimg.com
19. Like the Americans
Similar to the Americans, Afghans too, steer on the right-hand section of the road.
Source: quora.com, image: wikimedia.org
20. Have tea after Palau
Afghans like to have their favorite drink Tea, after their popular meal Palau, which is made from rice, sheep and goat meats, and fruit.
Source: quora.com, Image: sbs.com.au
21. A Different KFC
There are two “KFC” restaurants in Kabul, Afghanistan. But for Afghans, KFC doesn’t mean Kentucky Fried Chicken; it is Kabul Fried Chicken.
Source: quora.com, image: photoblog.nbcnews.com
22. A new Democracy Still in Trouble
Afghanistan is a newly created democracy. Under the new constitution of the country, the President & two Vice Presidents are elected every five years. The International Security Force Assistance assists the government in maintaining peace & rebuilding the country. However, there still are issues with the Taliban and internal security.
Source: quora.com
23. One of the least Developed Countries
Afghanistan is considered one of the least developed countries and also one of the world’s poorest owing to the years of war & being short of foreign investments. With a GDP of about $29 billion, Afghanistan has an exchange rate of $18 billion, with about $1,000 as the GDP per capita.
Source: quora.com
24. Poor at Human Development!
Most of the times, Afghanistan is ranked at the bottom in the list of Human Development Index.
Source: quora.com
25. Deprived Education
According to reports, only 28.1% of the entire population over the age of 15 is educated in Afghanistan which means that about 71.9% of adults are incompetent of even the basic reading & writing skills.
Source: borgenproject.org
