Paryan (northern district of Panjshir) Trip

So, I went on a trip up to the northern part of the province earlier and took some scenic pictures. This part of the country is so beautiful, with everyone harvesting, replanting, and making flour out of wheat. Reminds me a lot of Nebraska in some ways and of those pictures in the history books of farming 100 years ago (although there are no tractors in Panjshir; everything is done by hand as it has been done for 500 years).

A field of wheat harvested and waiting to be threshed

Another field, but that area is all the land that that farmer probably has to feed an estimated family of 7.

Don't know why I took this one, but it gives you a glimpse into the life and beauty of Afghanistan. Notice all of the terracing in the background to squeeze out a bit of farmland at 8000 feet. FYI, the gravel road the men are walking on was built specifically for the school (school is literally at the end of the road, which we extended).

We delivered a bunch of school books and toys to a new clinic we were building. This boy couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 and the bag was as tall as he was.

Here is the same boy. Yes, he is Afghan. There are several different races and mixes here. You end up seeing people that look very Mongol, Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, Russia, European, etc. Afghanistan has been walked over and invaded a lot in the last couple thousand years (Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan made it here). So, you have a lot of mixing and people with different features.