Religion of Afghanistan

Islam is the main religion of Afghanistan, with over 99% being Muslim. Of the Muslim population, 84% are Sunnites and 15% are Shiites. There are small groups of Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jews that are scattered in the towns.

Struggle Against Drug Trafficking

The executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday that the United Nations is planning to launch a program aimed at stopping drug trafficking in Afghanistan by the end of 2011. Central Asia states have been a hub for drug trafficking, and new programs are being developed to put an end to it. The United Nations is planning on spending $3 million. Roughly 90 percent of the heroin that is consumed in Russia is smuggled from Afghanistan; 30,000 Russians die from heroin abuse each year.

Armenia and Christanity

In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church that still exists independently of both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity. From around 1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had close ties to European Crusader states, flourished in southeastern Asia Minor until conquered by Muslim states.

oldest shoe

A perfectly preserved shoe, 1,000 years older than the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the UK, has been found in a cave in Armenia. The 5,500 year old shoe, the oldest leather shoe in the world, was discovered by a team of international archaeologists and their findings.

Azerbaijan's Youth

I found an interesting article about how the government of Azerbaijan is taking steps to try and improve social and economic problems for their youth. I have listed the link to the article here.

http://www.news.az/articles/politics/35081

Food of Southern Azerbaijan

Southern Azerbaijan has traditional foods that have been around for quite a while. One of the most traditional foods is Dolma which basically means "stuffed". This includes stuffed peppers, stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage leaves, apple, tomato, pepper, quince, onion, eggplant, and a type of vegetable called a evelik.

Another traditional food is kebabs. The different types of kebabs include berg kebab, soltani kebab, Juje (or dwarf chick) kebab, liver kebab, tomato kebab, Bonab kebab (named after a city in Azerbaijan), tail kebab, kebab in pan and Kubide kebab.

Another dish that is eaten primarily in the winter is soup. These are made mostly in the winter because the soups are thought to have healing powers. Some of the soups include yoghurt, ayran (derived from yoghurt), noodle, sour soup, semolina soup, scarlet soup, boiled sheep's head soup, fruit soup, and tomato soup.

Lastly, another traditional food is meatballs. The Tabriz and the Rize meatballs are the most common ones. Meatballs are often stuffed with fried onions, dried apricots, cooked eggs, walnuts and other flavors. Some of the staple spices that are used in traditional dishes include saffron, cumin, turmeric, thyme, red and black pepper, ginger, mint and dried roses.

Retrieved from http://www.oursouthazerbaijan.com/English_cuisine.htm

Afghanistan landscape

Afghanistan is a country that is landlocked on all sides with no coastline. It is on the Iranian Plateau surrounded by the Hindu Kush mountains. It is the 41st largest country in the world and covers 250,001 sq miles. Afghanistan is about the size of Texas, and most of the land is rugged, inhospitable mountainous landscape.