Bijan Omrani, Matthew Leeming, Elizabeth Chatwin

Thanks to 20 years of civil war and its association with terrorism, Afghanistan is now unjustly thought of in the West as a barbarous backwater. Afghanistan: A Traveler's Companion & Guide aims to dispel this image in a comprehensive introduction to 3,500 years of Afghan culture.

Starting with a full history of the country from 1500 BC, each chapter looks at the major cities and regions, describing their distinctive cultural and ethnic traditions, their associations with poets, artists, musicians, travelers and holy men, as well as warriors and conquerors. Ancient and modern sources from Afghanistan are extensively quoted, as well as the thoughts, musings and experiences of writers from America, Europe, Russia, China, India and the Middle East, including such luminaries as Wilfred Thesiger and Bruce Chatwin.