Ariana: The Henley Passport Index, which measures the world’s most travel-friendly passports from time to time based on data received from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA), has released its first report of the new decade. According to the report, Japan is now on top of the list. Afghanistan ranks the lowest. Its passport stands in number
Amin Alemi Press TV, Bamyan August 20, 2019 It seems to be like a dream to spend days in the nature for picnic in one of the world’s most dangerous countries, Afghanistan. But here in the central part of the country, people enjoy the beauties of one of the UNESCO world’s heritage sites in a
1TV: Tourist arrivals in central Afghan province of Bamyan have declined 30 percent, local officials said. The decline is driven in large part by insecurity on Maidan Wardak-Bamyan and Ghorband Valley. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Mohammad Qasim Wafayee, the chief of the Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan, says that it has been over ten years that Afghanistan’s flights are in the blacklist of European countries. He adds that the efforts are taking place to solve this problem. Click here to read more (external link).
CNN: You can camp. You can picnic. You can even rent swan-shaped paddle boats to navigate one of six deep blue lakes that shimmer high in the Hindu Kush mountains, amid picturesque red-hued cliffs and rocky natural dams. Sounds like an idyllic vacation destination, until you consider that Band-e Amir National Park lies in the heart
1TV: Pakistan closed its airspace in February after India carried out airstrike, following a suicide bombing in India-controlled Kashmir that was claimed Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad. The closure has doubled flying time to India, which is currently happening through Iran, increasing fuel costs for airlines and fares for passengers. Click here to read more (external link).
AFP: Many take their chances by staying with Afghan strangers they find through the Couchsurfing network, rather than paying for a room in a hotel protected by armed guards and bullet-proof doors. “Staying with people and dressing to blend in a bit makes it possible to travel in Afghanistan with not too big of a risk,” says
New York Times: The bay windows in the Bost Hotel’s dining room looked out across the Helmand River. For all the river’s immensity, the current, borne hundreds of miles from up in the Hindu Kush, spoke only in whispers. The air hummed with mosquitoes. Beyond the river, on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, the capital of
ABC News: For 200 years, Ghulam Sakhi’s family has been blowing glass in the ancient Afghan city of Herat. He creates azure, indigo and green goblets, cups and vases that have been sold in fancy stores overseas, but like so many Afghans the artisan struggles to make a living and as he tries to keep this
Atas Obscura: Tajbeg Palace stands atop a knoll dominating Kabul as a concrete allegory to Afghanistan’s recent past. Rusting wheels that once supported the manually-operated cable car that transported Queen Soraya to her husband in the nearby Darul Aman Palace share faded opulence with ornate architraves, hacked marble, and grammatically incorrect Taliban graffiti. Click here to