Afghanistan Adventure Travel

Afghanistan has been locked in conflict for more than twenty years. but beyond the conflict there is a culture that is old and deep. The lost buddhas of Afghanistan are in the valley of Bamiyan. Afghanistan is a mixture of landscape and people and hidden away in the valley of Bamiyan were giant statues of the buddha. It is a country torn apart by war for many years. Beyond the bombs and the bigotry is a hidden treasure - Bamiyan and the lost buddhas. Afghanistan is a land locked country in central asia between pakistan and iran.

To get to Afghanistan you come to it through the Khyber pass from Pakistan. The Khyber pass has been used by centuries by conquering armies. The tribal areas are controlled by tribal leaders and banditry and kidnapping are common and westerners need to bring an armed guard. YOu can hire an old army jeep at the border after you exchange dollars for afghanis and set off into the hindu kush mountains. This road used to be controlled by the warlords of the mujahadeen and if you did not pay the toll, they would shoot you.

Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and is a thriving city that has the effects of war all over the city. IN the past when the taliban controlled the country, there were trade sanctions and this created a lot of hunger and suffering by the people. Kabul is nestled in the mountains and is very high up so it can get pretty cold. The animals at Kabul Zoo survived the Afghan war. The kids played in the derelict buildings left after the destruction of war. Years of fighting have taken a terrible toll on the city of Kabul and once mighty buildings of kings and shahs are now ruined. At the religious schools they learn their lessons by rote and determines the way they live their lives.

Herat is easiest to get to from the air. The road there is a bit bumpy and full of craters. It is four hundred west of kabul and has been a battle ground for thousands of years. In its day it was one of the greatest cities of culture in asia. The markets are bustling with people selling fruit, vegetables and other produce. In the cafes you can get some sweet tea and bread made in the clay ovens. Boiled sheeps brains is the delicacy on the menu. Herat has an ancient university that was demolished by british soldiers last century. Not even russian shells could topple the minarets. The shops in the bazaar have lots of old things such as coins and guns. You could even buy a long gun or glassware that is unique to the area. Out the back , the same family has been making glass for generation after generation.

The great citadel of Herat has huge walls and was part of the secret spy wars of the nineteenth century. The Afghans fought the persians at the time and forced them back. Afghanistan has been a battle field on the way to somewhere else. The roads through the mountains are shocking. The center of Afghanistan is one of the bleakest places in asia. They have been fighting in this area for thousands of years. Castles dot the hills to command the valleys. There are land mines everywhere so watch your step when visiting any old castles.

Mazar-i-Sharif has been a place of war for centuries and there are unexploded bombs everywhere. Fathers lose children and there has been a great loss in human life. There has been some clearing of land mines but there is lots more to be done. Mazar-i-Sharif has the great blue mosque that is still intact. The blue mosque is one of the holiest places in Afghanistan and is one of the most beautiful mosques in the world. Three thousand years ago the city of Balkh stood near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Balkh is built on bones. All around the crumbling walls are human bones. Every time it was sacked the people rebuilt it.

The lost valley of the buddhas is in Bamian. During Autumn in the Bamian valley, the beauty is astounding. Bamian is in the heart of the hindu kush. The lost buddhas were more than fifty meters tall. The medieval fortress of the bamian valley is called the citadel. Ghenghis Khan slaughtered thousands here a long time ago. Unexploded mines can do it to you today. The Huzara people live in the villages and are the descendants of the Tribes of Genghis Khan and are fiercely independant. The buddhas had been defaced for centuries by islam pilgrims. The bamian budhas were the oldest in the world. The whole mountain is full of tunnels with thousands of statues of buddha. This is where the buddha in human form was first formulated.

Afghanistan Resources

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