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Afghanistan's recent history is filled with war and civil unrest.  Cold War subjected Afghanistan to competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.  The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and started the Soviet-Afghan War.  As a result, 1.5 million people were killed and six million people became refugees in Pakistan and Iran.  The war continued between the communist government and Muslim holy warriors even after the Soviet Union withdrawal in 1989 (Culture Grams).

By 1992, different factions in Kabul started fighting each other to gain control of the county.  In 1996, one of the groups, the Taliban, a "hard-line Pakistani-sponsored movement that fought to end the warlordism and civil war" (CIA), captured Kabul.  By 2000, the Taliban controlled most of the country except North Alliance in the northeast (CIA).  Support for Taliban declined after it imposed strict and repressive laws based on its interpretation of Islamic law (Culture Grams).

Following the terrorist attach on the World Trade Center in September 2001, the United States and Northern Alliance ousted the Taliban for sheltering Osama Bin Ladin.  An interim government and political reconstruction were established in 2001.  Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president in Afghanistan in 2004 (CIA).

Afghanistan's economy is based on agriculture, pastoralism, and mining.  Agriculture if primary of domestic consumption.  Main export items are natural gas and textiles.  Afghanistan is also known for its carpets (Culture Grams).

Afghanistan is comprised of four major ethnic groups (Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara) as well as many smaller ethnic groups.  Over 30 languages and dialects are spoken.  Dari (a form of Persian) is most commonly spoken while Pashotuns speak Pashto, Uzbeks speak Uzbeki, and Turkmen speak Turkic languages.  Smaller ethnic groups have their own languages or speak a dialect of major languages (Culture Grams).

Virtually all Afghans are Muslim.  The Taliban strictly enforced Muslim practices.  Men prayed five times each day in a mosque.  Women were not allowed to work outside or to go to school.  While women handled household tasks, men had contacts with the outside world such as working in the field, running a family business, and shopping at the market (Culture Grams).

Afghans usually sit on the floor for meals.  Right hand fingers are used to eat and the left hand is traditionally reserved for cleaning oneself after using the toilet.  Islamic law forbids the consumption of pork and alcohol.  Tomatoes, spinach, potatoes, peas, carrots, cucumbers, and eggplant are popular.  Traditional Afghan cuisines include pilau (rice with meat and/or vegetables), qorma (vegetable sauce), kebab (skewered meat), ashak or mantu (pasta dishes), and non (bread) (Culture Grams).

Bibliography:
 
(2003) Culture Grams:  Islamic State of Afghanistan.  Lindon, Utah:  Axiom Press, Inc.
 
Central Intelligence Agency. (2005) The World Fact Book - Afghanistan.  Washington D.C.
Available at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html

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