The culture of Afghanistan has been around for millennia. Afghanistan's culture is largely influenced by Islam but has also been influenced by religions such as Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. Afghanistan has been a crossroads for India, Iran, and Central Asia which has influenced its culture.

Names

The people of Afghanistan are referred to as Afghans. However within Afghanistan, many Afghan refer to themselves based on their nationality.

Art

Afghan Art has spanned many centuries. One of the most famous types is the Gandhara Art between the 1st and 7th centuries which was had Greco-Roman ancestory. Since the 1900's Afghanistan began to use Western techniques in Art. Art was originally almost entirely done by men but recently in theatre arts women have begun to take center stage. Afghan art is largely centered at the Kabul Museum. Other well known forms of art in Afghanistan are Music and Poetry.

Music

Since the 1980s, Afghanistan has been involved in near constant violence. As such, music has been suppressed and recording for outsiders minimal. During the 1990s, the Taliban government banned instrumental music and much public music-making. In spite of arrests and destruction of musical instruments, Afghan musicians have continued to ply their trade into the present. The capital of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is more closely related to Iranian music. Lyrics across the country are typically in Persian and Pashto.

Afghan Poetry

Afghan poetry is primarily written in Pashto and Dari. The most famous forms of poetry in Afghanistan are Ghazal and Charbeiti both of which were originally unique to the Dari language but have since been used by other languages.

Charbeiti is told in four lines and usually describes love, youth, war, or events in the poet's life. They are often passed on orally which often leads to multiple variations of a poem.

Architecture

Afghanistan has made major contributions to world architecture. UNESCO has acknowledged Afghanistan's role by declaring the Minaret of Jam and the Valley of Bamiyan, home of the famous Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban, World Heritage Sites.

Other examples of universally important contributions to architecture may be found in Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Ghazni. For more information, see the Society for the Protection of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage.

Afghan Food

Afghanistan has a wide varying landscape allowing for many different crops. Afghan food is largely based upon cereals like wheat, maize, barley and rice which are the nation's chief crops. Afghanistan is well known for its grapes.

Clothing

Traditional male Afghan clothing usually includes a Pakol(hat), Lungee(turban), and a Chapan(coat). Traditional women's clothing includes a dress and a cloth that covers the face (including the burqa). However, recently after the fall of the Taliban many men and women have changed what they wear , and as such many similarities to Western dress have developed.

Opium and other drugs

Afghanistan has become a hotspot for the Russian drug trade. Many believe that the future of Afghanistan depends on crippling the trade. Opium is the largest drug used and traded in Afghanistan.

Sports

Most official Afghan sports are run by the Afghan Sports Federation which promotes soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, bowling and chess. Afghanistan fields 7 players at FIDE with its highest rated being Saifudin Ayyoubi with a rating of 2178. A popular and ancient sport unique to Afghanistan is the Buzkashi.

Education

Education in Afghanistan has recently been reviatlized after the fall of the Taliban. Primary education lasts six years. If the student does well on the entrance exam they are then admitted into Secondary education, which is divided into 7-9 and 10-12. A new structure that allows eight years of primary and four years of secondary education will probably be considered in the near future.

Higher Education

Higher education is provided by mainly six universities in Afghanistan, which includes the University of Islamic Studies, an Agricultural Insitude and a Polytechnic, a State Medical Institute and two teacher training institutes. Recently with help from UNESCO over 1000 women have taken university entrance examinations.

Language

There are two official languages, Dari Persian and Pashto, which are spoken by a majority of the population, though several other languages are spoken regionally. Dari is spoken by approximately 1/3 of the population in Afghanistan, while Pashto has over 9 million speakers. The largest Pashto-speaking cities are Kandahar and Kabul, the capital. Pashto was recognized in 1936 as an official language by a royal decree. In the north Tajik, Uzbek, and Turkmen are widely spoken. There are over 70 smaller languages spoken througout the country, including Hazaragi.

Religion

Roughly 80% of the population is Sunni. While only 19% Shi'a Muslim. Their are an estimated 3,000 Afghani Christians, however there are many undercover christians.

Housing

Afghan's generally live in areas where others of the same nationality live. Afghan houses are traditionally made of a series of rooms located around a private rectangualr courtyard where women and children play, cook and socialize. Married sons share the same house as their parents, althought they have separate quarters. Some Afghan houses contain a special room where men socialize with eachother. In the cities many Afghans live in apartments. The nomadic population of Afghanistan lives in tents.

Holidays

Holidays in Afghanistan are celebrated according to the lunar calendar while other holidays secular holidays are celebrated based on the solar calendar. On holidays Afghans usually visit their family and friends where they prepare lavish meals and have special prayers with the extended family.

National

National festivals include Norouz(Afghan New Year), Victory of Muslim Nations Annversary of Revolution, Afghan Independence Day (also known as Jeshen), and National Labour Day. Norouz is held annualy on 21 March.

Religious

Afghanistan's religious holidays are nearly the same as Islamic holidays. Some of the most important include Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, Ashura, Mawlid.