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Afghanistan

Afghanistan
Afghanistan, also known as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is located between Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.   Because of Afghanistan’s location between the East and the West, it is a culturally mixed nation.   It is a country of great mountains, scorching deserts, fertile valleys, and rolling plains.   However, despite it’s strategic location, Afghanistan is one of the world’s least developed countries.   Most Afghans are farmers and some of the people are even seminomadic.     They roam the vast grasslands in the summer with their herds, and spend the rest of the year farming.  
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan.   Its population is approximately 3 million people out of the 31,889,923 people in all of Afghanistan.   The main religion is Islam, which is sometimes the only link between the people of Afghanistan for there are 20 ethnic groups divided into several tribes.   The largest ethnic groups are the Pashtuns and the Tajiks.   They make up nearly 75% of the population.   The Pashtun language is Pashto and the Tajik language is Dari.   The rural population of Afghanistan lives in homes made of sun-dried mud bricks.   City dwellers live in homes or apartments made of baked brick and concrete.   The country’s seminomads live in tents made of goat hair.   The majority of Afghan people wear traditional apparel.   In winter they wear a heavy coat of sheepskin.   Most men wear a turban to indicate ethnic group and city women have to wear a chador, which is a full-length garment that leaves only their eyes uncovered.   Women who live in rural areas only have to cover their head with a shawl.   This is however, only the beginning to women’s constant secondary role in society.  
A traditional Afghan meal includes flat loaves made of whole-grain or sourdough.   They also eat vegetables, yogurt, chicken, beef, mutton, and rice.   Tea is the most common drink.   Trade is a major part of Afghanistan because it is rich in...