Afghanistan's unseen beauty

Published October 10, 2012
An Afghan villager stands in the shade next to an adobe wall in the small town of Baharak. The town is located in a fertile valley which is fed by the Kokcha river and is ringed by rugged arid mountains to the north and south of it. Badakhshan which shares borders with Tajikistan, China and Pakistan is mostly inhabited in its majority by Tajiks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs.
An Afghan villager stands in the shade next to an adobe wall in the small town of Baharak. The town is located in a fertile valley which is fed by the Kokcha river and is ringed by rugged arid mountains to the north and south of it. Badakhshan which shares borders with Tajikistan, China and Pakistan is mostly inhabited in its majority by Tajiks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs.
An Afghan man and a child ride a donkey in a road leading into the small town of Baharak in the province of Badakhshan in the late afternoon.
An Afghan man and a child ride a donkey in a road leading into the small town of Baharak in the province of Badakhshan in the late afternoon.
Two residents stand by the bend of the Kokcha River in the outskirts of Faizabad, the capital of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. The Kokcha river drains the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains.
Two residents stand by the bend of the Kokcha River in the outskirts of Faizabad, the capital of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. The Kokcha river drains the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains.
Smoke rises from a small workshop nestled in the hills around Faizabad, the capital of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan.  Faizabad who's name means ?Blessed Abode? has been the capital of Badakhshan since the 17th century.
Smoke rises from a small workshop nestled in the hills around Faizabad, the capital of the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan. Faizabad who's name means ?Blessed Abode? has been the capital of Badakhshan since the 17th century.
A villager walks with a donkey loaded with sacks of onions down a country road in the Payan Shahr valley in the province of Badakhshan.
A villager walks with a donkey loaded with sacks of onions down a country road in the Payan Shahr valley in the province of Badakhshan.
The road follows a fertile valley running parallel to the Kokcha river and ringed by rugged mountains to the north and south of it.
The road follows a fertile valley running parallel to the Kokcha river and ringed by rugged mountains to the north and south of it.
A shepherd stands next to a creek as he keeps watch on his flock of sheep in a field in the Payan Shahr valley in the province of Badakhshan. The fertile valley is fed by the Kokcha river and is ringed by rugged arid mountains to the north and south of it.
A shepherd stands next to a creek as he keeps watch on his flock of sheep in a field in the Payan Shahr valley in the province of Badakhshan. The fertile valley is fed by the Kokcha river and is ringed by rugged arid mountains to the north and south of it.

Badakhshan’s fertile valley which is fed by the Kokcha river and is ringed by rugged arid mountains to the north and south of it. Badakhshan which shares borders with Tajikistan, China and Pakistan is mostly inhabited in its majority by Tajiks, Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs. – Photos by AFP

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