Ten Shamelessly Interesting Facts About Afghanistan

1.  The main mountain range in Afghanistan is the Hundu Kush.  It is a massive range with mountains ataround 24,000 feet.  ‘Kush’comes from the verb ‘kushtan’ which means ‘to kill.’  Hindu Kush means ‘Hindu Killer.’  Mountaineering tourism has become very popular in recent years, Hindu killing is a thing of the past.   

2.                 The Greeks built a Metropolis at Ai Khanom in northern Afghanistan.  Built around 400BC it had a gymnasium, a theatre, had dedications in Greek to Hercules and Herakles and had a huge statue to Zeus.  The tomb of the founder of Ai khanoum was inscribed:

"Païs ôn kosmios ginou (As children, learn good manners)

hèbôn enkratès, (as young men, learn to control the passions)

mesos dikaios (in middle age, be just)

presbutès euboulos (in old age, give good advice)

teleutôn alupos. (then die, without regret.)"

Greek influence can be found all over Afghanistan, Pakistan and China.  It was a years march back to Greece so and for a while a part of Afghanistanwas forever Greek.  Then they joined alocal currency scheme and…

3.                 Genghis Khan wrecked the place.


4.                 Nuristan (land of light), an easternprovince, was formerly known as Kafiristan (land of the unbelievers).  It was the last to convert to Islam and didso only at the point of the sword in the 1890s. Many Nuristanis today would still know of the old gods and when theImams aren’t around they will tell their old stories to guests.

Nuristani children c2002

5.                 Kafiristan/Nuristan was the setting for Kipling’s ‘TheMan Who Would be King.’ However it is not the desert place that it seems in the John Huston film but has a rich ecosystem of forests and rivers and valleys.   

6.                 Alexander the Great thought the Kafiristanis were descendedfrom the god Dionysus (the god of wine) because their wine was so good and their hair and skin was lighter than other tribes around them. Many just assumed this was rubbish but anthropologists now believe that there was some sort of European migration several thousand years ago. Have a look at these kids.  This pic was taken in 2002.  I think they look Irish, they certainly don't look Greek to me.  The Greeks did leave their legacy and one of the high mountains in Nuristan/Kafiristan is called Qala Iskandariya - Fort of Alexander.    

7.  Greece contributes around 80 soldiers to the Afghan ISAF Mission.  Ireland contributes seven; I don't know what they're doing but I'm telling you those boys look Irish.
 

8.  The founder of the Moghul Empire ‘Babur’ was the world’sfirst ruler to keep a journal/diary. 

9.  There is a KFC in Kabul, however it is Kabul Fried Chicken.  The sign is a bit ridiculous.  The English words are simply written in Persian script.  The Persian word for chicken is 'murgh' but those crazy marketing geniuses have just written 'chicken.'   I'm also not sure if this is a genuine franchise or not.  I strongly suspect the Colonel's copyright has been infringed here.

10.   A British soldier who was meeting some Afghan army counterparts in Kabul in 2006 was interrupted by some Afghans civilians who had come to lodge a complaint.  The soldier was quite disconcerted as the Afghans were making their feelings felt very strongly.  They had come to protest about the burning down of the bazaar in Kabul.  The British officer immediately thought "oh God, what have the Paras done now!"  His Afghan counterparts quickly put him at ease and told him that they were protesting about the burning down of the bazaar in 1842!   Afghans have long memories.