Badakhshan

This time ATIS wishes to take you to Badakhshan Province, the greenest region in Afghanistan. It is almost impossible to find people who have not heard about marvels in Badakhshan Province. If you hope to know the reason why Badakhshan is considered the most verdant region in Afghanistan follow ATIS`s introduction on this province. Spring in Badakhshan Province Woods in winter, Badakhshan Province Badakhshan Province Badakhshan is a mountainous province located in the northeast of Afghanistan. This province is positioned 470 km to the Kabul. It shares border with Kunar Province, Laghman Province and Kapisa Province in south and Takhar Province in west. It is situated in a mountainous area with high and snow covered mountains consisting Wakhan Region, Pamir Mountains and Hindukush Mountains. Moreover, Badakhshan shares border with Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. Majority of the people in this province are from Tajik ethnic group and speak Dari. Summer in Hindukush Mountain Range Wakhan Valley Pamir Mountains Girls in Wakhan Valley Girls in wheat fields – Wakhan Village A girl in wheat fields – A viliage in Wakhan Valley A family in Wakhan Valley Men in Wakhan Valley A brother and sister in Wakhan Valley A girl in the fields Historical background This region was divided into two districts among two great empires in 1896 (Russian Empire and Britain). One part of the province was annexed to Russian Empire under the name of Russian Badakhshan and later the autonomous and mountainous Soviet side centering Karoq City attached Russia and the second part centering Faiz Abad City annexed Afghanistan. Russia and Britain agreed on Amu Darya as the natural border among Russian and Afghan Badakhshan. However, following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Russian Badakhshan was annexed to the Tajikistan. Faiz Abad City Another view of Faiz Abad Districts of Badakhshan Province Badakshan Province has 28 Districts including Wakhan, Kishm, Baharak, Jurm, Yaftal Pain, Yaftal Bala, Ragh, Orgu, Darayem, Arghanchkhah, Nosi, shoki, Mahami, Ishkashim, khash, khahan, kofab, Kohistan, kiran-va-Manjan, Shahr-e-Bozorg, Shoghnan, Shohada, Tagab, Tishkan, Worduj, Yamgan and Yavan-o-Zibak districts. Kishim District in Badakhshan Province Goul Bala Village Shiva region in Badakhshan A river in Badakhshan Province A river in Badakhshan Province Stone houses – Badakhshan Province Historical places and regions in Badakhshan Province As mentioned earlier, Badakhshan Province is one of the most beautiful regions in Afghanistan. This province contains many dams and high mountains. Some important dams in this province: Kokcha, River, Wakhan, Warduj, Tagab, Tangi Shiwa, Pamir, Jurm, Agherdah, Ghori Sang, Darwaz, Ragh, Zarqul and Chaqmaqin. Badakhshan has high mountains and wild rivers. Major products in this province include; wheat, grain, corn and millet. And its famous fruits include mulberry, walnut, apricot, sour cherry and apple. Baharak Apple and Sarghilan Walnut are very famous in this province. Important rivers in Badakhshan include: Kokcha, Wakhan, Warduj, Tagab, Tangi Shiwa, Pamir, Jurm, Khastak, Jukhan-e-Kof Ab, Aish Ab, Jiro Ab, Runj Ab, Zarich Ab, Ghori Sang, Darwaz and Ragh. Badakhshan Province encompasses 53 percent of water resources in Afghanistan. Kokcha River Khwaja Mohammad, Hezar Chishma and Safed Khers are among important mountains in this province. Safed Khers Mountain Pule-e-khishti on Kokcha River, Khirqa-e-Mobarak and tombs of Mer Yari Big, Mir Qais and Hakim Naser Khosro and the remaining of Baharak Ishkashim are part of the most important historical monuments in this province.

Badakhshan's lapis lazuli was traded over great distances in antiquity, reaching Mesopotamia and Egypt, and the mines of the Kokcha valley have been worked for thousands of years. The Wakhan and the valleys of the Panj formed one of the routes between Central Asia, China and the Indian subcontinent; the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang passed this way in the 7th century, and Marco Polo described Badakhshan's precious stones and horses in the late 13th century. Through the medieval period the region was ruled largely by local mirs and shahs, at times under larger empires based in Central Asia or Khorasan. In the 11th century Nasir Khusraw spent his last years in the Yumgan valley, where his teaching shaped the Ismaili communities of the Pamir. Badakhshan was brought under the Afghan state in the second half of the 19th century, and agreements between Britain and Russia in the 1890s fixed the Panj as the frontier and left the Wakhan Corridor as a narrow strip separating the two empires.

Dari is the common language of the towns and of most of the province, spoken with a distinctive Badakhshani accent. In the eastern valleys several Pamiri languages are spoken at home, among them Shughni in Shighnan, Wakhi in the Wakhan and Munji in the Munjan valley, while a small Kyrgyz community lives in the Little Pamir and some Uzbek is heard in the west. Most people are Sunni Muslims, and Ismaili communities live in the Pamiri districts along the Panj. Shrines matter locally, above all the tomb of Nasir Khusraw in Yumgan, and village mosques and prayer houses are centres of community life. Badakhshan has a strong musical tradition. Falak, a style of plaintive song accompanied by the dambura or rubab, is closely associated with the region, and songs and dances are part of weddings and Nowruz celebrations. Buzkashi is played in the lower valleys in the cooler months, and wrestling is a common sight at local gatherings.

Badakhshan holds some of Afghanistan's highest ground. The Hindu Kush rises along the southern border, with Noshaq, the country's highest peak at over 7,400 metres, above the Wakhan, while the Pamir fills the far east with wide, high valleys and lakes such as Chaqmaqtin and Zorkul. The Panj and its tributaries, and the Kokcha flowing west through Fayzabad, carve deep gorges through the ranges. The Wakhan is protected as a national park, and the high country is home to Marco Polo sheep, Siberian ibex, snow leopards, wolves and brown bears, though they are rarely seen. Lower down, the valleys around Baharak, Jurm and Keshem have irrigated wheat fields, orchards of apricots, mulberries and walnuts, and summer pastures on the slopes above. Winter is long at altitude, and snow closes the high passes for months. Glacial meltwater swells the rivers in late spring and summer.

Food in Badakhshan is simple and filling, built on wheat bread, dairy and the produce of the valleys. Bread is baked in clay ovens or on griddles, and yoghurt, butter, cream and qurut, dried balls of strained yoghurt, are staples. In the Pamiri districts and the Wakhan, tea is often drunk with milk, salt and butter. Mulberries are dried in large quantities and eaten as a snack or ground into flour, and apricots and walnuts are dried for the winter. In Fayzabad and the larger district towns, rice dishes such as qabuli palaw, meat stews, kebab and soups are served on special occasions and in eating houses. Honey from the mountain valleys is valued, and mutton and yak meat are eaten in the high pastures.

Lapis lazuli is the material most associated with Badakhshan. Rough stone from the Kokcha valley is traded through Fayzabad and cut and polished into beads, jewellery and carved objects, much of it in Kabul. In the villages, women knit thick patterned socks, gloves and caps from local wool, and embroider caps, cushion covers and dresses. Wakhi and Kyrgyz households make felt, woven bands and woollen rugs for their own homes, and some of these reach the bazaars. In Fayzabad, the market also sells household wares, imported goods and the striped chapan coats worn across the north.

Badakhshan's seasons are sharp. Winter, from about November to March, brings deep snow to the mountains, closes the high passes and makes travel beyond the main valleys difficult. Fayzabad itself is cold but usually reachable, though roads can be blocked for days after heavy snowfall. Spring arrives in the lower valleys in April and May, with blossom in the orchards and rivers rising with snowmelt; landslides and washed-out roads are common at this time. June to September is the season for the high country: the Wakhan and the Pamir pastures are accessible, herders move up with their animals, and trekking routes open. July and August are the warmest months. September and early October bring the harvest of fruit and nuts, clear skies and cooler nights. Nowruz in March is celebrated, but much of the province is still under snow then.

The main road from Kabul crosses the Salang Pass to Puli Khumri, continues north towards Kunduz and east through Khanabad to Taloqan, and then runs through Keshem to Fayzabad. The drive is roughly 620 km and usually takes a long day or more, depending on conditions on the Salang and in the mountain sections. From Taloqan, the onward drive to Fayzabad takes several hours. Fayzabad has an airport (FBD), and domestic flights have connected it with Kabul, which saves a long journey when services are running. Beyond Fayzabad, roads lead east to Baharak and then on to Ishkashim and into the Wakhan, a journey of a day or more. Bridges over the Panj link the province with Tajikistan at points such as Ishkashim and Shighnan, but whether they are open to travellers varies. Road conditions and local circumstances change, so travellers should check current conditions before setting out.

Fayzabad has the widest choice in the province: a small number of hotels and guesthouses in and around the town centre, used mainly by officials, traders and visitors on work trips. Rooms are generally simple, and hot water and electricity can be irregular. Outside the capital, district towns such as Baharak, Keshem and Ishkashim have only a few basic guesthouses or rooms above shops and tea houses. In the Wakhan and the Pamir, travellers usually stay in village guesthouses or family homes, sleeping on mats in the main room and sharing the household's meals; in the high pastures, herders' yurts and stone huts may be the only shelter. Trekkers should be ready to camp and to carry warm bedding even in summer.

Fayzabad is compact enough to walk around the centre, and shared taxis, zaranj rickshaws and private cars serve the town and its outskirts. Between district centres, shared four-wheel-drive vehicles and minibuses run when roads allow, usually leaving when full from set points in the bazaar. For the Wakhan and the more remote valleys, most visitors hire a four-wheel-drive vehicle with a local driver who knows the road, the river crossings and the seasonal hazards. Beyond the end of the road, travel is on foot, with donkeys, horses or yaks to carry loads, and arrangements are made with villagers along the way. Journeys of any length should allow spare time for breakdowns, landslides and weather.