Afghanistan Travel Guide

Afghanistan OVERVIEW

Once an unmissable stop on the hippy trail, a land of rugged mountain ranges, infinite plains and poetic valleys, a heady mix of bustling bazaars, soaring minarets and strong tribal identities, today a dreaded seat of war punctured by gunfire, debilitated by the Taliban regime, and stripped of its former charisma. What happened to the country that used to pride on its inherent dignity and so gallantly squared off against communism?

After 1989 it turned out that a successful operation is not enough for a body to recover. When the Soviet forces were driven away and the allies lost interest in the Afghan condition, decay set in fast in the weak and impoverished country. The Taliban took over, capturing 95% of the country by the end of 2000. The seven-year, exploitative rule came to the zenith in 2001 when a squad of militiamen, acting on an edict to demolish the ''gods of the infidels,'' blew off - to a dramatic national outcry- two giant statues of Buddha hewn into the cliff of Bamiyan province. Yet the outside world seems to remember a different culmination, which shattered the international community just a couple of months later on September 11. The rest of the story is more or less known.

But lest we forget, Afghanistan is still standing and its legacy can't be denied. The sky-colored domes of Mazar-e Sharif, the buzz of Andkhoi on a market day, the iconic architecture of Hierat, and the staggering beauty of lake-sequined Band-e Amir are too compelling to fall into oblivion.

And if you by any chance found yourself trekking in the Wakhan Corridor, even now, you'd discover to your utmost surprise how abstract the reality of war is in this bucolic land of domesticated yaks, jaw-dropping mountain vistas, and peaceful conversations.

From a terrorist-held state into a budding democracy - Afghanistan's transformation is slow and dearly paid for. Large portions of the country remain effectively a war zone, with acts of violence and ongoing operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban being sufficient reasons to stay away. Batches of peace-keeping troops still occupy Kabul and it will be decades before Afghanistan recovers from the trauma of death and destruction. But while there's life there's hope, and hope dies very hard in the human spirit.