{"id":5535,"date":"2018-11-20T16:35:48","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T16:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/?p=5535"},"modified":"2020-06-08T12:41:18","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T12:41:18","slug":"reisebericht-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.svenlucaworld.com\/en\/travel-report-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel report Afghanistan - Between mountainous landscape and dangerous Taliban"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nVisa and entry requirements Afghanistan:<\/strong>
\nPassport required
\nVisa requirement - Visas must be obtained from an Afghan diplomatic mission abroad such as before entering the country\u00a0Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan<\/a> be requested
\nVisa costs 100 euros<\/p>\n

Information from the Federal Foreign Office about your trip to Afghanistan:<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.auswaertiges-amt.de\/de\/afghanistansicherheit\/204692<\/a><\/p>\n

Afghanistan is a landlocked country between Central and South Asia with around 35 million inhabitants. The country borders Pakistan to the south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast and China to the east.<\/p>\n

The two official languages of Afghanistan are Pashtun and Dari, the national currency is the Afghan Afghani, where 1 euro corresponds to around 85 AFN.<\/p>\n

The largest cities in Afghanistan include Kabul, Herat, Kunduz, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif, Jalalabad, Pol-e Khomri, Maimana, Taloqan and Sheberghan.<\/p>\n

The majority of the Afghan territory is very mountainous and in some cases hardly accessible. The highest peak in the country is the 7,485 meter high Noshak in the northern Hindu Kush mountain range.<\/p>\n

Afghanistan has significant reserves of mineral resources, such as crude oil, natural gas, gold, iron ore, coal, zinc, sulfur, uranium, lithium, copper, lead, marble, chromium, molybdenum, cobalt, niobium, asbestos, gemstones and talc. However, these huge raw material deposits are still largely unused.<\/p>\n

Almost 100% of the Afghan population profess the Muslim faith. Due to the long war, a large number of women are widowed. In Afghanistan, women must first ask their husband's permission before leaving the house.<\/p>\n

There has been war in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for over 20 years, which is why the state is one of the poorest countries in the world despite its numerous natural resources.<\/p>\n

The state's most important economic sectors include the sale of mining licenses, agriculture and drug cultivation. Afghanistan is the largest opium and hashish producer in the world, and the world market share for opium is over 90%.<\/p>\n

The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul with around 4.2 million inhabitants. Kabul is by far the largest city and the political, economic and cultural center of the country.<\/p>\n

The city of Kabul has been the target of terrorist bombings or attacks for years, making the city number 1 in the world when it comes to attack and victim statistics.<\/p>\n

The most important sights in Kabul include the Darul Aman Palace, the British Cemetery, the Tajberg Palace, the tomb of the former Emperor Babur with its gardens and the mosque, the Kabul Museum, the Shamshira Mosque, the National Museum, the Bibi Mahroo Hill , the Id Gah Mosque, Lake Qargha and the Abdul Rahman Khan Mosque.<\/p>\n

In September 2014 I traveled to Afghanistan for the only time so far. Due to the critical situation and my own safety, my entire stay in Kabul was only seven hours.<\/p>\n

As soon as we arrived at the airport, with the 3 meter high fences around the baggage carousels, we immediately noticed the current situation in Kabul. After countless checks when leaving the airport, I finally made it outside, where the airport was of course cordoned off over a large area.<\/p>\n

After a short walk, I saw two taxis standing there and persuaded a driver to take me on a city tour of no more than three hours for 20 US dollars.<\/p>\n

In retrospect, it is actually hard to imagine how many hundreds of military, police and armed security forces were stationed around the airport.<\/p>\n

In Kabul itself, one saw not only heavily armed vehicles, but also some markets and a completely normal life.<\/p>\n

After the number of armed people, police cars, tanks, UN vehicles and other military transport seemed to be increasing, I broke off my reconnaissance trip and was taken back to the airport. I maintained my previously determined intention of not even leaving the taxi for safety reasons until the end.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see any of the sights up close, but given the actual situation on site, I definitely wouldn't have gotten out.<\/p>\n

So Kabul is definitely not worth visiting until the end of the war.<\/p>\n\n