Lashkar Gah - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Lashkar Gah (Pashto: لښکرګاه‎; Persian: لشکرگاه‎), historically also called Bost (Persian: بُسْت‎), is a city in southern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkar Gah district, and situated between the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. The city has a population of 201,546 as of 2006. Lashkar Gah is linked by major roads with Kandahar to the east, Zaranj to the west, and Herat to the north-west. It is mostly very arid and desolate. However, farming does exist around the Helmand and Arghandab rivers. Bost Airport is located on the east bank of the Helmand River, five miles north of the junction of the Helmand and Argahandab rivers.

 American designed street of Lashkar Gah.

 History

Lashkar Gah means "army barracks" in Persian language. The area was part of the Saffarids in the 9th century. It grew up a thousand years ago as a riverside barracks town for soldiers accompanying the Ghaznavid nobility to their grand winter capital of Bost. The ruins of the Ghaznavid mansions still stand along the Helmand River; the city of Bost and its outlying communities were sacked in successive centuries by the Ghorids, Mongols, and Timurids. However, the region was later rebuilt by Timur (Timur Lang).
By the late 16th century the city and region was governed by the Safavid dynasty. It became part of the Afghan Hotaki Empire in 1709. It was invaded by the Afsharid forces in 1738 on their way to Kandahar. By 1747 it became part of the Durrani Empire or modern Afghanistan. The British arrived in or about 1840 during the First Anglo-Afghan War but left about year later. The city was used by Ayub Khan in the Second Anglo-Afghan War until 1880 when the British helped return it to Abdur Rahman Khan. It remained peaceful for the next 100 years.

The modern city of Lashkar Gah was used as a headquarters for United States Army Corps of Engineers working on the Helmand Valley Authority (HVA) irrigation project in the 1950s, modeled after the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the United States. Lashkar Gah was built using American designs, with broad tree-lined streets and brick houses with no walls separating them from the street. In the wake of the Soviet invasion and the long Afghan civil war, the trees mostly came down and walls went up.
The massive Helmand irrigation project in the 1940s–1970s created one of the most extensive farming zones in southern Afghanistan, opening up many thousands of hectares of desert to human cultivation and habitation. The project focused on three large canals: the Boghra, Shamalan, and Darweshan. Responsibility for maintaining the canals was given to the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA), a semi-independent government agency whose authority (in its heyday) rivaled that of the provincial governors.
After the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989 and the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government in 1992, the city was taken over by the Mujaheddin forces. In the mid-1990s it fell to the Taliban government. In late 2001, the Taliban were removed from power by the United States armed forces. Since 2002, the city and region was occupied by United States Marine Corps and the International Security Assistance Force. After training and equipping Afghan security forces, the foreign armies transferred security responsibility to the military of Afghanistan and Afghan National Police in 2011. The city has witnessed some fighting in the form of attacks orchestrated by the Taliban insurgents. 

 Boat riding on the Helmand River. The forest is located on the other side.

 The Lashkar Gah Mosque is the main mosque in the city.

 Helmand Institute of Teachers Training

 Peace Square

Lashkar Gah Football Stadium

Recent developments

The city of Lashkar Gah has undergone large scale development in the past few years with new roads, markets and residential areas constructed. Many Afghans continue to leave their tribes and emigrate towards cities – such as Lashkar Gah. Government projects distributed land to the people, increasing the approximate size of the city. Modern architecture and building methods are more common, now, here than Mud squats and other more traditional Afghan architecture. The current Governor of Helmand province, Gulab Mangal, has funded large scale development of the city, the Governor's office and Justice Department have been recently renovated, new Police Headquarters and Eidgah have also been funded. Unlike much of Afghanistan the roads in Lashkar Gah are generally paved with asphalt. International Organizations and PRT in Lashkar Gah have helped to complete rehabilitation and infrastructure projects such as building: schools, roads and parks.
In 2005 it was announced that a USAID-funded project would build six reservoirs in Lashkar Gah, with responsibility for the water supply then being handed over to the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority. The city had been without fresh water for the previous 30 years due to the contamination of the Helmand River.
As part of Operation Moshtarak in 2010, the British Army and local workforces constructed Route Trident, a road to connect Lashkar Gah and the northern, more developed city of Gereshk, Governor Mangal's efforts to restructure the city have left Route Trident underfunded, but highly ranked in the priority of rebuilding Lashkar Gah.

A current project in the city, to aid regeneration is the "Lashkar Gah Bost Airport and Agriculture Center". This project will consist of constructing a new agricultural center, an Industrial Park and will repair, upgrade and modernise Bost Airport through renovation projects.

Farah - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Farah (Pashto/Persian: فراه) is the capital of Farah Province, located in western Afghanistan. It has a population of about 108,400, and is mainly ethnic Pashtun people. It is about the 16th largest city of the country in terms of population. The Farah Airport is located in the area.

 An Afghan boy and his father walk their cattle along a street in Farah City, May 12, 2012.

Following the collapse of the Soviet-backed government of Najibullah in 1992, Ismail Khan returned to power in Herat, and came to control Farah, as well as the other surrounding provinces of Ghor and Badghis, until Herat fell to the Taliban in 1995.
The roads in Farah province have seen massive improvement since May 2005. The education system has been greatly improved and a great number of illegal weapons have been collected and destroyed in the province by the Provincial Reconstruction Team. The United States built a base at Farah Airport, which also houses the Afghan National Security Forces (ANFS).
On May 7, 2009, thousands of Afghan villagers shouting "Death to America" and "Death to the Government" protested in Farah City over American bomber air strikes on May 4 that killed 147 civilians. Clashes with police started when people from the three villages struck by US B1-bombers brought 15 newly discovered bodies in a truck to the house of the provincial governor. Four protesters were wounded when police opened fire. Going by the account of survivors, the air raid was not a brief attack by several aircraft acting on mistaken intelligence, but a sustained bombardment in which three villages were pounded to pieces. An Afghan government investigation concluded on May 16, 2009 with the Afghan Defense Ministry announcing an official death toll of 140 villagers. A copy of the government's list of the names and ages of each of the 140 dead showed that 93 of those killed were children, and only 22 were adult males.
On 20 November 2009 it was reported that a suicide bomber on a motocycle detonated near a market in Farah Naz city, killing 17 people and wounding 29. Mullah Hayatullah was the Taliban commander for Farah province and was reported to be known to run suicide training camps.

 Afghan girls sing songs to U.S. service members during a visit to the orphanage in Farah City June 19, 2012.

Chaghcharan - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Chaghcharān (/tʃæɡtʃæˈrɑːn/; Persian: چغچران‎), also called Chakhcheran, and formerly known as Āhangarān Pashto: آهنګران‎), (Persian: آهنگران‎, is a town and district in central Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Ghor Province. It is located on the southern side of the Hari River, at an altitude of 2,230 m above sea level.
Chaghcharan is linked by a 380-kilometre-long highway with Herat to the west and is about the same distance from Kabul to the east and is also served by Chaghcharan Airport.
It has a population of about 15,000 who are mostly Dari (Persian) speakers.

 The Minaret of Jam built by the Ghurid Dynasty

 A Lithuanian medic visits a patient in Chaghcharan hospital.

 A bridge in Chaghcharan

 Medieval

Prior to the arrival of Islam the region's inhabitants practiced various different religions including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Judaism. The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni took place in the 10th century. After the defeat of the Ghaznavids in the 12th century the area came under the control of the local Ghurid dynasty of Ghor. The Ghurid Dynasty had its summer capital, Firozkoh nearby and they constructed the Minaret of Jam there. Today the Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In the 13th century, the region was invaded by Genghis Khan and his Mongols barbarians who destroyed Firozkoh but left the Minaret of Jam intact. The region was then ruled by the Ilkhanate until Timur conquest in the 14th century.
Chakhcherān is mentioned by name in the 16th century Baburnama, describing Babur's visit in early 1507 while on his journey to Kabul. It was a town located in the Gharjistan region, between Herat, Ghor, and Ghazni.
Modern Era

 In 2004, an independent FM radio station (Dari: راديو صداي صلح or Voice of Peace Radio) came on air in the town, the first independent media in this part of Afghanistan.[citation needed]
In June 2005, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) established a Lithuanian led Provincial Reconstruction Team in which Croatian, Danish, American, Ukrainian, Icelandic, and Georgian troops also served.In February of 2013 residents of Chaghcharan protested for five days against the lack of development that has occurred in the province. The cited the lack of paved roads and electricity as their major concerns.
In April 2014 protests against the Ghor Province's governor turned violent and Afghan police attacked protesters and journalists in Chaghcharan. The protesters had been calling for the resignation of the governor who they alleged "wants to divide the land [in Chaghcharan] among warlords.

Khost - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Khost or Khowst (Pashto/Persian: خوست) is a city in eastern Afghanistan. The capital of Khost Province is Matoon. Khost is a mountainous region near Pakistan's border with neighboring North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Bannu in Pakistan. The population of Khost City is about 160,000 people and the whole province has around a million. There are various tribes living in Khost. Some main tribes are Zadran, Mangal, Zazi, Tani, Gurbaz, Muqbal, Sabari etc.
During the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the town was besieged from July 1983 to November 1987. Khost Airfield, with its 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway, served as a base for helicopter operations for the Soviet military.
American forces have used the Khost Airfield since as early as at least January 2007[citation needed] during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) that commenced in October 2001.
Khost is the home of Khost University. The inhabitants of area are Pashto-speaking ethnic Pashtuns. Khost Mosque serves as the main mosque in the city.

 View in Khost, Afghanistan

Khost is located about 150 kilometres south of Kabul and 100 kilometres southeast of Gardēz, in Khost Province in eastern Afghanistan. The town of Khost is located on a plateau of minimally 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude that extends to the East for about 40 kilometres (25 mi) until the Bannu Pakistan border. 30 km to the North the peaks start up to 2,500 to 3,000 metres (8,200 to 9,800 ft) right next to the frontier, while 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the South, near the border, the average is around 1,800 m. The valley of Khost is closed to the west with a long mountain chain with peaks that go over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Through this runs for about 90 kilometres (56 mi) the road to Gardez, which is considered extremely dangerous due to the risk of ambush. So Taliban invaded Khost in 1995.

 A business centre in the town centre under construction in 2007

Khost Mosque, which is the largest mosque in the city.

Ghazni - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Ghaznī (Pashto: غزني‎, Persian: غزنی‎) or Ghaznai (غزنی), also historically known as Ghaznīn (غزنين) or Ghazna (غزنه), is a city in Afghanistan with a population of over 150,000 people. It is located in the central-east part of the country. Situated on a plateau at 7,280 feet (2,219 m) above sea level, the city serves as the capital of Ghazni Province. It is linked by a highway with Kandahar to the southwest, Kabul to the northeast, and Gardez and Khost to the east. The foundation stone of Ghazni Airport was laid in April 2012 which now serves Ghazni and other nearby eastern Afghan provinces.

As with other cities in Afghanistan, Ghazni is very old and has witnessed many military invasions. During the pre-Islamic period, the area was inhabited by various tribes who practiced different religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism.[citation needed] Arab Muslims introduced Islam to Ghazni in the 7th century, they were followed by the 9th century Islamic conquest of the Saffarids from Zarang in the west. Sabuktigin made Ghazni the capital of the Ghazanvid Empire in the 10th century. The city was destroyed by one of the Ghurid rulers but later rebuilt. It fell to a number of regional powers, including the Timurids and the Delhi Sultanate, until it became part of the Hotaki dynasty followed by the Durrani Empire or modern Afghanistan.
During the First Anglo-Afghan War in the 19th century, Ghazni was partially destroyed by British-Indian forces. The city is currently being rebuilt by the Government of Afghanistan in order to revive the Ghaznavid and Timurid era when it served as a major center of Islamic civilisation. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have established bases and check-points to deal with Taliban insurgency.

 A 19th century artwork by James Atkinson showing among other things the Ghazni's citadel and the two minars, which were built by Bahram Shah during the Ghaznavids era (963–1187).

 Timurid conqueror Babur at Ghazni.

 Artwork by James Rattray showing the Citadel of Ghazni and other historical sites, during the First Anglo-Afghan War.

 U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan Anthony Wayne and Ghazni's Governor Musa Khan Ahmadzai are talking to students who use Afghanistan's newest Lincoln Learning Center.

 A young boy and his friends play outside the Danesh Centre educational facility in Ghazni City as members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni unload computers to be donated to the facility.

Jahan Maleeka School is an all-girls school with has over 5,000 students and 150 teachers.

Sheberghan - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Sheberghān or Shaburghān (Pastho, Persian: شبرغان‎), also spelled Shebirghan and Shibarghan, is the capital city of the Jowzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.

Sheberghan is located along the Safid River banks, about 130 km (81 mi) west of Mazari Sharif on the national primary ring road Herat-Kandahar-Kabul-Mazari Sharif-Sheberghan-Maymana-Herat. Sheberghan airport is situated between Sheberghan and Aqchah.

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Charikar - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Charikar (Persian: چاریکار‎, pronounced Chârikâr) is the main town of the Kohdaman Valley and the capital of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan. It has a population of around 171,200, which is a multi-ethnic society.
The city lies on the road 69 km from Kabul to the northern provinces. Travelers would pass Charikar when traveling to Mazar-I-Sharif, Kunduz or Puli Khumri. Charikar is at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, where the Shamali plains meet the foothills of the Hindu Kush. Charikar is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.

 A street in Charikar

In 1221, the Battle of Pirvan was fought near Charikar, in which Jalal ud-Din with an army of 30,000 with 100,000 auxiliaries delayed an advance column of 30,000 men of the invading Mongol army long enough to allow part of his army to escape into the northern Punjab, and avoid the immediate consequences of the fall of the Khwarezmid Empire.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Charikar became a flourishing commercial town of several thousand inhabitants. Charikar was the location of major battle during the First Anglo-Afghan War. In 1841 a British garrison was massacred.
During the Soviet invasion, the region around Charikar was the scene to some of the fiercest fighting.

On August 14, 2011, a team of about six suicide bombers attacked the governor's palace in Charikar. The Governor Abdul Basir Salangi survived but 19 people were killed to which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

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Puli Khumri - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Puli Khumri (Persian:پل خمری) is a city in northern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Baghlan Province and as of 2002 had a population of 60,000. The spoken language is mainly Persian and the vast majority in this city are ethnic Tajiks.

View of the city

Economy
There are two dams in Puli Khumri, which provides the necessary electricity.
Afghanistan's first cement factory was built in 1954 in Puli Khumri with financial support from Czechoslovakia. It is owned by Mahmud Karzai, the brother of Hamid Karzai. The limestone is mined from the hill behind the factory.

There is a coal mine outside of the city in the village Kan-kan, but the production system is archaic.
Agriculture is very important because of the rain and temperature; wheat and rice are the main crops.
 

Provincial Reconstruction Team
Hungary headed a Provincial reconstruction team in the city until March 2013.

Electrical transmission lines built from Puli Khumri are now bringing a steady supply of electricity to Kabul.

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Taloqan - Citiy of Afghanistan - Todays WorldTour

Tāloqān (Persian/Pashto: طالقان, also transcribed Tāleqān or Tāluqān) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006

 Takhar Provincial Governor Office in Taloqan

 market street in Taloqan

The old city to the west on the riverside was described by Marco Polo in 1275 CE as:
    "a castle called Taikhan, where there is a great corn-market, and the country round is fine and fruitful. The hills that lie to the south of it are large and lofty. They all consist of white salt, extremely hard, with which the people for a distance of thirty days' journey round, come to provide themselves, for it is esteemed the purest that is found in the world. It is so hard, that it can be broken only with great iron hammers. The quantity is so great that all the countries of the earth might be supplied from thence."
In 1603, Taloqan ("Talhan") was visited by another European explorer, Bento de Góis, who was traveling with a caravan from Kabul to Yarkand (then the capital of Kashgaria).

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