Afghanistan: Then and Now

Afghanistan: Then and Now

By: Bodie Snell

Afghanistan is a country that is full of rich beauty, history and culture. Modern-day Afghanistan is a land-locked country in the Middle East – south-centrally located on the Asian continent. It is considered a “gateway” country connecting the Middle East to the Far East as it is bordered by Pakistan on the southern and eastern borders, Iran on the western border, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan (all part of the former Soviet Union) on the northern border, and by China on the far northeastern border. Roughly the size of Texas, Afghanistan is a land of rugged beauty with snow-capped mountains of the Hindu Kush mountain range, a sub-range of the Himalayans, which divide the country from east to west, along with the Sistan Basin, which is often prone to drought conditions, in the southwestern part of the country and the fertile plains in the northeastern part of the country. Two-thirds of the country is above 5000 feet in altitude and includes several mountaintops, one of which Noshaq at 22,965 feet, are among the highest in the world. The water from the snow capped mountains flows into the Arghandab River which flows in the Helmund River – both of which are used for irrigation purposes – however, during the year rainfall is often light and water can be scarce. The scarcity of water can make life in Afghanistan fairly difficult at times.

Throughout history Afghanistan’s geography has played a large part in who its inhabitants were, how they were conquered and how they survived. During the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, it is believed that the people who populated the area were some of the earliest agricultural based societies due to the evidence of agriculturalist and pastoriolism dating up to 50,000 years ago. One of the earliest cities is believed to be Mundigak, located in the southern part of the country near where modern day Kandahar is, which is believed to be inhabited as an urban civilization...