Some Afghan Culture

Not everything about the country of Afghanistan is corrupt, evil and disheartening. Afghanistan is a country with a rich past and many unique cultural traditions.

Usually everything I post on this blog is in some way related to war, death, dying or blood. I decided to use this opportunity to blog about some aspects of this region that do not involve any of the above.

Some interesting Afghan superstitions

• If your foot touches or hits another person's foot, you will get into a fight with that person, unless you shake hands right away
• If a boy chews gum, his beard will grow uneven
• It's not good to let someone compliment your child or other loved one too much, because they may become jinxed and bad luck may fall on them ( This is called "Nazar"-ing a child). For example, if you say a child is beautiful, the child may become sick. You can ward this off by either saying "Nazar Nakona", or by reciting a surah from the Quran

Afghan food is very unique and embodies a very specific culinary style. 

Salaata is an Afghan salad made with cucumbers, tomato, yellow onion, cilantro, lemon and radishes.

Dogh is a blended yogurt drink, famous in the region.



Bolaanee is a traditional Afghan appetizer that consists of spiced and salted leeks or potatoes wrapped in an egg roll wrapper.

Although we often think of Afghanistan as a desert region where water is scarce and camels are abundant, the weather for this week is not unlike our Spring weather. The forecast for the coming week in Kabul consists of highs in the low 70s during the day and lows in the 40s during the night.

Traditional cloth contains beautiful pigments and patterns.

Traidtional clothing

Afghan dress

Has anyone ever heard of Buzkashi? Probably not, it is the official sport of Afghanistan and involves a decapitated goat carcass. Sound interesting?

The game is a symbol of Afghani culture and its roots date back hundreds of years. The game begins with a dead goat, headless dead goat, in the middle of the designated playing field. The object of the game is to capture the dead goat, on horseback mind you, and bring it to the scoring area. Two teams compete in this fiercely competitive and oftentimes dangerous sport.

The most popular name for a baby, boy or girl, in Afghanistan in 2011 Namir (swift cat)

Zalmai is the most popular name for a boy, it means young

Muna is the most popular girl name, it means may the lord be with you.



1 US dollar = 45 Afghanis