Kabul,+Afghanistan


 * KABUL, AFGHANISTAN **


 * Citation:** "Afghanistan." __The Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac 2003.__Ed. Charles P. Trumbull, et al. pp. 375-377. 2003.
 * Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan and the country's largest city (with just over 3 million people).
 * 3,000 + year old city with a history that spans back to many historical empires such as the Mongols (established 2000 BCE - 1500 BCE)
 * Because Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan, it played a major military role in the civil war in Afghanistan
 * Afghanistan: Statistics
 * Official name: Islamic State of Afghanistan
 * Official religion: Islam
 * Area: 251,825 sq mi
 * Population: 26,813,000
 * Sex distribution: 51.31% male and 48.69% female
 * % of population under 15: 43.8%
 * % of population 15-29: 25.4%
 * Birth rate: 41.8 births for 1,000 population (world=22.5)
 * death rate: 18.0 deaths per 1000 population (world=9.0)
 * Life Expectancy: Male 46.6 years; female 45.1 years
 * 15% of the 21,000 km of Afghan roads are paved
 * 5/1000 people subscribe to newspaper
 * % of population with no formal education: 88.5%
 * Food consumption: 72% of the FAO recommended minimum requirement
 * Afghanistan: History
 * Afghanistan was originally part of the Persian empire in the 61th century B.C.E
 * Alexander the great conquered the area in the 4th century B.C.E.
 * Hindu influence
 * The area adopted Islam during the Saffarids rule (870 C.E.)
 * Until the 18th century, Afghanistan was divided between the Mughal empire (India) and the Safavid Empire of Persia
 * Great Britain and Russia fought over Afghanistan during the 1800s
 * Afghanistan had a stable, western-like monarchy during the 1930s
 * Marxist rebels overthrew the monarchy in the 1970s
 * The USSR got involved in Afghanistan but lost to the rebels in 1988-1989
 * 1992, the Islamic rebels entered Kabul and officially overthrew the government
 * 1996: the government was taken over by the Taliban faction
 * Afghanistan: Recent History
 * September 11, 2001: the United States invaded Afghanistan in due to claims that the country was housing a Taliban leader responsible for the attacks (Osama Bin Laden)
 * November 12: The Taliban abandons Kabul and flees to neighboring countries
 * 27 November, 2001: UN Conference to settle on an interim government to replace the Taliban
 * 13 June, 2002: Hamid Karzai elected president

Even after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan still experiences turmendous instability due to tribal disputes. The video clip is a documentary of cultural influence of Afghanistan and tribal conflict []


 * PHOTOGRAPHS AND MAPS **

[|Photograph of Kabul from Above]











**EXTERNAL LINKS** [|Personal Documentary of Kabul] [|Video of Woman's Return to Kabul] [|The History of Kabul]