“Whatever countries I conquer in the world, I would never forget your beautiful gardens. When I remember the summits of your beautiful mountains, I forget the greatness of the Delhi throne.”
Thus did Ahmad Shah Durrani, the 18th century warrior-poet considered the first ruler of modern Afghanistan, describe his homeland.
However, the West has long seen the Asian nation through the lens of its colonial-era nickname - the graveyard of empires, a place of violence and destruction.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
High-profile conflicts with the Soviet Union in the 1990s and the US-led coalition in the 2000s have done little to improve Afghanistan’s global image - but the country is much more than its troubled history.
“Afghanistan's spectacular beauty stuns most foreigners who visit primed to expect violence, suffering and terrible poverty,” says The Guardian.
Click on the gallery to see nine photos that show an Afghanistan very different from that depicted on the evening news - an incomparably beautiful land of mountains, lakes and deserts, home to a diverse array of people.
-
August 9 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include snake oil salesmen, Ghislaine Maxwell's new residence, and more
-
5 hastily redrawn cartoons about redistrictingCartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's draughtsmanship, the White House ballroom, and more
-
Bonnie Blue: taking clickbait to extremesTalking Point Channel 4 claims documentary on the adult performer's attention-grabbing sex stunts is opening up a debate
-
‘We should be scared’: the poisoning of schoolgirls in Afghanistanfeature Children hospitalised in allegedly deliberate mass attacks is latest in series of incidents going back decades
-
Officials believe dozens of girls in Afghanistan were deliberately poisoned at schoolSpeed Read
-
Taliban kills mastermind of Kabul airport suicide bombingSpeed Read
-
Sudan evacuation: has Foreign Office learnt the lessons from Afghanistan?Today's Big Question Failings of chaotic withdrawal from Kabul prompt return of foreign secretary and airlift of Britons from Khartoum
-
The Week Unwrapped: Afghanistan, Florida and Northern Irelandpodcast Can the World Bank set the Taliban straight? Why is Florida saying ‘don’t say gay’? And what can we learn from the last trials of the Troubles?
-
‘Britain is suffering from an ever-dwindling supply of compassion’Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
-
‘Educated girls can heal economies and heal the planet’Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
-
‘In the war on terror, the terrorists won’Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
