Show tari avi aya fa all 1 a IR A S A caravan in the khyber keyber pass prepared by the Kat national ional geographic society washington D C A afghanistan one of the most atries secluded of the larger coun j tries of asia has ila come more into world consciousness in recent months than ever before because of tile the visit of its king and queen to europe until this occasion these monarchs had never been outside their native land and their trip through gli europe was made up of a series of amazing adventures A journey by nil an american through Afghan letan would be little less amazing authorities diff differ er as to the exact origin of the afghans but the old theory that they are of semitic extraction Is now discredited it seems more inore probable that they are merely a ml mis tue of tribes developed here through many centuries of raids migrations grat ions and tribal changes in physical appearance the afghan Is a sort of turco iranian type tile the minor tribal divie divisions lons in the east of the country showing also a mixture of indian blood tile tiie name afghan I 1 or adwan Is of comparatively recent usage tile the culture of the country Is largely persian but tin an eager desire for learning Is innate in every afghan and fit if late years not only indian but also british culture and customs have begun toAn fluence the better classes of nf the people the afghans call their language Pus htoo for official matt matters erv however the persian idiom Is used and understood olef over most of the country the turkish and mongolian tribes in western and central afghanistan s nic their own tongues the ruling amir knows persian some and turkish foreign newspapers most of them coming from india are most carefully careful lv rea ld d at the agirs court where they are translated by hired students trained in india the amir delights in illustrated newspapers and Is him self a fairly good photographer jealous of harem the afghan Is notoriously jealous of his harem and few indeed are the men of the outside world who have ever looked on the face of an afghan woman of the towns towne with the desert women wives and daughters of the nomads it la Is different the koran permits them to go unveiled the breaking of this custom by the queen on her recent journey was deplored deplot ed by many moslems the afghan works no more than la Is absolutely necessary to make his living the upper tipper classes con consider vider it their privilege to exploit the poor and the burden of taxation ts Is very heavy As for entertainment tile the people especially ally the wealthy are fond of games and of sports hunting horse racing wrestling rtin matches telles and gym castle games are popular recently football and tennis have been adopted by the upper class youngsters of na but bul rom rain glite fi cock fl ond end even fights between mate male quail are favorite diversions and through throughout out nil afghanistan dancing Is indulged in and the hie public declamation of ballads Is warmly applauded haerr hetter elass class afghan owns a piano imported from bombay which hp he ploys plays with one finger keeping hi fit foot on the loud fond pedal constantly when on nn outsider ploys plays for them using g ten tin fingers ers fit at n time they nie are i ove overcome renine with amazement and admi ration ril tion A tal talc Is told of one man at ait kabul who sawed the legs off his gr grand and p piano inno so that hp he might play piny it while sItt lym on the floor door afghan costumes vary in dif different terent t the country in the hast enst tile the garments gara approach the indian style a anil nd of nf late years ft fw few natives have eran appeared in european nuro Euro penn dress A let ade ago the amir anti inti introduced endured eurn pran penn uniforms and suits for himself and his whole staff of officials european hate and uniforms uniform of it all emyles imported in quan quantities tItles fr from ni india are aie often worn wom in the most singular combinations the typical national dress drem of the afghan consists of a long tailed calten calico shirt white pants leather shoes or boots and a tanned liepp skin coit coat elaborately embroidered with yellow ellk this cont coat Is sometime it replaced by n long toga of red cloth three kinds of are cus amary some wear a low col ored cap others a blue or white stir ban which Is r gold lit erel ered with a flap hanging down oin to protect the nv nark k from tip the ann in bonic pro ra alip ki illah a colored cap that looks like a n turk ish fez which widens toward the top in ID the house and tit at work women wear long calico shirts wide colored pants like the men and hend head clollis cloths above gold embroidered caps their street dress consists of long wide pants and a bluff baudo or black overdress the costume being completed by it loose garme garment fit that covers the licad head and upper part of tile the body just a allowing the eyes to look through a tat lot alceo insert like a strip of mosquito liar bar the feet are arc stuck in n large red slippers meager bill of fare the bill of faro fare of the afghan la Is very simple and reflects the poverty of the mhd country dread bread fruits vegetables tea sweet milk sour milk and cheese ore are the main foods illee mutton fowl and sweets cooked in various ways are found on tile the the well to do the average afghan has no particular fondness for wine or ept spirits rits tobacco raised in the land Is of inferior quality the better sorts are imported from russia india and egypt tho the amir khan always lind A 6 good private stock of havana cigars roth both young and old people take snuff ten tea sweetened and unsweetened la Is tile the favorite drink and is consumed in prodigious quantities when you go to see an afghan you can hardly escape before swallowing four or five cupfuls of 0 ten tea it IP therefore no trifling gastronomic feat to pay several visits in one afternoon the more so if tile the polite host with a view of honoring the western guests has the tha ten served in big russian gins glasses ses the right hand Is always used us ed in eating and drinking the left hand florid being considered unclean dogs though numerous and useful are looked upon ns as unclean and pious people never touch them animals that go badly lume lame on tile the march or camels that get snowbound in the mountain passes are aban abandoned donel to their fate afghans never kill such animals as we might do to put the them out of their misery they believe that the lives alvea of all living things are in hands of allah and that man sins it if he presumes to interfere with tile the sri sn preme will afghans will not even kill fleas or other vermin they merely pick them off and throw them thein awall away 1 the trade of afghanistan Is ie moved entirely by caravans and la Is largely large y in the hands of hindus and iks the chief route lies through the famous keyber khyber pass the great gateway from fro mIndia Indin which has been fortified by the british government this pass Is open every week on tuesdays and fridays except in very hot iven weather ther when it Is available to trade only on fridays A most rigid scrutiny Is exercised by the agirs agents on till all who come and go As soon ns as ca ravane caravans from india enter the country their indian leaders are turned back and heavily armed af afan aan an guides take their places caravans well regulated some of these afghan caravans or B with military precision num ber thousands of camels and a tion number of guides and camel drivers lit in the the poss pass Is an ipen for caravans coming into afghanistan and in tile hie afternoon for thom in the topp opposite osite dire direction tion the puss pass Is absolutely closed tie between tween sundown sun down and sunup sun up along till all the alie caravan trails brulls in the country are good solid caravansaries caravan saries sarles built ot of stone stolle and ami clay situated about it u days from each other oilier the roost most important caravan roads lending out of afghanistan are lit in the west irom run heral to meshed ed in tile from malmene tind and aytcha to ro berhl lit in life est es t from kabul to peshawar Pe mid and in the south from kan dollar dahar to quetta Qi ietta important cities etke kabul kanda liar har heral malmene lind mazar 1 tire are connected by fairly good at iravan roads which over various long 6 stretches can be used by motor ears the anier has good motor roads built in and around kohut kabul to link flak up till ills his pil palaces laces owing to the aggressive pursuit and livrsh punishment meted out by the agirs troops the once famous rob hers bers of the afghan hills have alnio i disappeared so that caravans evin even evi n in the desert districts can now travel in nitty nf tty but bill irk in ome provinces nent near the beir horder ders constant quarrel s anil and raids lire are gilr on among hos hostile tili tri 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