Afghanistan photos

3. People making nan, a staple bread in the Afghan diet. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

4. Two boys collecting water on donkeys. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

5. Winters in Afghanistan can be snowy and very cold. The temperature sometimes sinks as low as -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

6. A vendor preparing lamb kabob, an Afghan delicacy. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

7. Men playing Buzkashi, a traditional Central Asian sport, in Mazar-i-Sharif. In Buzkashi, teams of horsemen attempt to place a dead calf on a designated circle. Ali Asghar Safdar, UN Photo 173287.

8. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. Two men in the Panjsher Valley in northern Afghanistan.

9. Ka Firushi, the bird market in Kabul. Under the Taliban government, owning pigeons and other birds was outlawed. Iain Cochrane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

10. A shepherd herds goats in the outskirts of Kabul through a field of abandoned Soviet tanks. John Zada, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

11. Children paint images of peace on a cement barrier in Kabul following a bombing. Ed Ledford, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

12. A boy stands in the wreckage of a building in Qandahar that was bombed by U.S. troops. Kenny Holston, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

13. A young boy sells Afghan carpets at the base of the Pamir Mountains. Alida Bata, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

14. Children run back from recess at a school in Changan village. Vinko Pernec, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

15. Children play near a minaret (a traditional Islamic structure) in Herat. Jim Kelly, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

16. Afghan women on their way to the airport in Kabul. Gancho Kamenarski, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

17. A boy flies a kite over the city. Kite flying is a popular activity amongst children in Afghanistan. Eric Stutphin, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

18. The Mosque of the King of Two Swords in Kabul. The building was constructed in the 1920s as part of an effort to modernize the city. Michal Hvorecky, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

19. Young boys playing cricket, a popular sport in Afghanistan. DJ Horton, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

20. The famous blue mosque at Mazar-i-Sharif. Michal Hvorecky, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

21. Housing in Kabul is extremely expensive. As the city has expanded, people have begun to build cheaper homes on the hillsides. Most of these houses don’t have public utilities. Laura’s Eye, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

22. Kuchis, a nomadic people in Afghanistan, travel with their cattle. Tracy Hunter, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

23. Women in the Dai Kundi province gather kindling to heat their homes over the winter. Muzafar Ali, UN Photo 167253.

24. Young boys learn carpentry skills in Nangarhar Province. In Afghanistan, six percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 are already working. Jawad Jalali, UN Photo 190218.

25. Two young women studying at Kabul University, one of ten universities in Afghanistan. Helena Mulkerns, UN Photo 159550.

26. A man enters a drug abuse rehabilitation center. Eskinder Debebe, UN Photo 138682.

27. The United Nations distributes food aid to rural Afghans in 2005 in response to a rise in global food prices, drought, and poor harvests. World Food Program, UN Photo 183585.

28. Farmers harvest wheat in Badakhshan. World Food Program, UN Photo 200914.

29. A school girl in Kabul pushes a classmate who lost both of her legs to a landmine. Hassan Zakizada, UN Photo 161468.

30. Construction workers in Kabul. Jawad Jalali, UN Photo 201959.

31. Jawad Jalali, UN Photo 201960. Women shop at a market in Kabul to prepare a meal for the observance of Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

32. Afghan boys play soccer near the site where one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan stood before it was destroyed by the Taliban. Balkh, Afghanistan. Fardin Waezi, UN Photo 397640.

33. An Afghan primary school class, supported by the United Nations. Kabul. Fardin Waezi , UN Photo 398285.

34. Former refugees that recently returned to Afghanistan from Iran at a UN returnee camp in August, 2009. Sari Pul, Afghanistan. Eric Kanalstein, UN Photo 442515.

35. Band-e-Amir became Afghanistan’s first national park in 2009. The park contains six lakes located in the Hindu Kush mountains. Eric Kanalstein, UN Photo 405822.

36. Students training to become midwives. Despite improvements since 2001, Afghanistan still has one of the highest infant death rates and maternal death rates (women dying from pregnancy) in the world. Nili, Afghanistan. Eric Kanalstein, UN Photo 405811.

37. Weapons for sale in the central market in Kabul. Eric Kanalstein, UN Photo 442503.

38. Female police recruits conduct training exercises at the police academy in Kabul. Fardin Waezi, UN Photo 461660.

39. Herat, Afghanistan. U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.