📍Kabul, Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Why Afghanistan?

When a friend messaged me in March, asking if I wanted to join him on a trip to Afghanistan in July, I didn't hesitate much. I knew that if I didn't do it now, I might never get the chance. Because this is anything but your typical tourist destination. And I want to begin this travel tale by saying, it's not all as they show us… But… Some things are indeed better, while others are much worse.

For the safety of the people who were responsible for our security, there are some things I won't be able to share, but I'll try my best to be completely honest and objective.

First, let's clarify that the Taliban has been ruling Afghanistan for the past 2 years, but not all Afghans are Taliban. The majority of the Taliban belong to the ethnic group Pashtuns (Pashtuns are a little under 50%, and not all of them are Taliban), and besides Pashtuns, there are Hazaras (some might call them original Afghans), Tajiks, Uzbeks, Turkmens... The official languages are DARI (Farsi or Persian) and PASHTO.

To enter the country, I needed a visa, which travel agency arranged for me. The visa is a permit for entry, but not for movement. For each location, an additional permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Afghanistan was required, and since the Taliban is in charge of that... You can probably imagine what it's like and how much tourism and culture there is.

Around 40 million people live in Afghanistan, and every person we talked to wants to leave. After the Taliban came to power, all foreign companies withdrew, and many people lost their jobs, living on the brink of existence. The only "advantage" of this government is that movement is now freer, both for tourists and locals. In the past, foreigners were the main target for the Taliban, and suicide bombings were an everyday occurrence.

I arrived in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan with around 5 million inhabitants, from Abu Dhabi, in less than 3 hours.

Exploring Kabul wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Bird Market, where birds are sold and their songs and chirping are cherished, holding special meaning in Afghan culture. Because, the Taliban has banned music...

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