Streets of Kabul

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I am home now and after some rest will be posting a few more things, mainly videos, to give you a glimpse of what Afghanistan and places in the Middle East are like.

This first video are some scenes from the streets of Kabul. Kabul currently has approximately 5 million residents, but no one knows for sure. That equates to about 20% of the population of Afghanistan. The reason the figures are sketchy is because people are constantly flocking to Kabul because it is the safest part of the country. Relatively little fighting/danger occurs in Kabul compared to the outlying regions of the country. Security throughout the city is tight and you can't drive 100 yards without seeing an armed member of the Afghan National Army or Afghan National Police doing a patrol or manning a checkpoint. The Turkish Army has responsibility for this portion of the country and has given day-to-day security operations to the Afghans.

Kabul used to be a fairly cosmopolitan city in the region, often drawing vacationers from Pakistan during the 1950's and 60's. That all changed shortly before the Russians invaded and up to now, the city has witnessed over 30 consecutive years of warfare. Due to damage from war, and the fact that the population has exploded, the infrastructure cannot keep up with the demand. There is a lot of poverty and everything pretty much looks like it has been destroyed. The exception of some of the new structures being built such as the wedding hall you'll see at the end of the video. Afghan weddings are big events, with hundreds and perhaps even thousands invited to the festivities.

Click the link below to see the video on YouTube. More will be coming soon.

Video Link: Streets of Kabul