for all the TEA in China

In my grandmother's day everyone drank tea - there was very little else to drink and in some places drinking tea was actually better than drinking plain water because the water in the tea had been boiled.  The whole family drank tea for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between.  It was relatively cheap,  refreshing in hot and cold weather and gave people something to do when socialising.  The process of boiling the water, brewing the tea, pouring and sipping helped to solve all problems, calm the spirit and to heal all wounds.

Tea is a hot drink made by infusing dried crushed tea leaves in boiling water.  We often refer to the infusion of other leaves, plants or flowers as tea, or herbal teas, but that is not real tea.

Real tea is made from the leaf of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, which is native to southern and eastern Asia and has been grown as a cash crop for hundreds of years. The plant is a close relative of the camellia.  In Mandarin it was called ch'a, which is the origin of the char and chai words for tea, and in the Amoy dialect it was T'e.

The tea drinking habit came to Australia, from the United Kingdom, with the first settlers. For middle class England tea was served with a light afternoon meal  of sandwiches and cake.  I think the main meal was in the middle of the day and they had supper of buttered toast and cocoa late at night.  For the working people tea was the evening meal and both these concepts became part of the early Australian culture.

High Tea was a tradition from around the mid 1700s as a late afternoon meal for working men. They were usually grubby and smelly after work, so had their tea standing up, or sitting on tall stools at a high bench and it became a 'high' tea of scones, toast and fruit cake, served with tea.

Later, this evolved into an early meal for 'well to do' people, before a night out at the theatre or playing cards so High Tea was a light but nourishing meal. Later in the evening they returned home for supper, which was often cold meat and veg as the servants had gone to bed.  Around this time the Fourth Earl of Sandwich had the idea of holding a slice of meat between two slices of bread - so he could eat while playing cards - and the High Tea sandwich came into being.

My grandmother, who was born into a large family and grew up in a one room shack on a dairy farm, liked to feel that as she had trained as a nurse and made something of herself she could put on a few airs and graces. 'We' never referred to the evening meal as tea. That was for working class people.  In our house 'we' had dinner in the evening.  I was never quite sure about meals because on Sunday, when the lamb roast was served in the middle of the day it was also called dinner and on Sunday night we had early tea of toasted sandwiches and later on a supper with hot chocolate. So, if you had lunch you could have dinner, but if you had dinner at lunch time, then after tea you got supper.  I'm glad elevenses remained in England.  It all depends on who your grandmother was.

Until the 1960's tea, in Australia, was made in a pot and the left over tea leaves were disposed of by the back door, usually into a vegetable patch where they acted as fertiliser and mulch, or into a pile of maiden hair ferns that seemed to grow where people tipped tea leaves.  People who didn't have a back door often emptied the tea pot into the loo and at one family gathering I remember a small cousin came back from a visit to the toilet to announce to the room of relatives that 'someone in this house has a very sick tummy'.  Apparently Great Aunty had emptied the teapot and not flushed.

In the Aussie bush tea was brewed in
 tin billy-can over an open fire

An Australian tradition is billy tea - still make in camping grounds all over the country, it just takes a fire, a tin can of boiling water, a handful of tea and a gum leaf.  Tea and rum were the drinks, and at times currency, of early settlement days but real tea was not always available to people in the bush. The Leptospermum tree, from the family Myrtaceae, is commonly known as Teatree, from the practice of early settlers soaking the leaves in boiling water to make a tea substitute. I can't imagine what that tasted like.  I live near the town of Nambour which gets it's name from the local Aboriginal name for the tea tree.  

Tea tree oil distilled from Melaleuca alternifolia is popular for it's amazing antiseptic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties.  

But, back to real tea, a visit to a Chinese tea shop will cause confusion because hundreds of different types and blends of tea are on offer, but there are only a few basic categories of tea and they all come from leaves of the same Camellia Sinensis plant. The processing of the newly picked leaves is what determines the tea's colour and taste.

Black tea is exposed to air until the oxidation of the leaf brings on its dark colour.  

Green tea comes from quickly heating the leaves to prevent further fermentation, and this gives the green colour and milder flavour.

White, yellow and the oolong teas are in-between, with different grades of fermentation.

Picking tea in India

History tells that tea travelled to Europe around 1590 when a Portuguese priest visited China and got permission to take some tea plants home, but until the 19th century nearly all tea was grown in China and most of it was exported to Great Britain.  

When political and business problems made trade difficult the British managed to get hold of (make off with), enough tea bushes to start tea plantations in Assam and Darjeeling in India, and Kenya in Africa, where it is still produced.  And, though China is still the biggest producer of tea, India comes a close second.

Apparently, for 300 years, at the London Tea Auction, tea was sold ‘by the candle’ system; bidding for lots went on until an inch of a candle had burnt away.

Water is still the most consumed beverage in the world today, but tea is a close second as we drink more than 3 billion cups of tea a year. The biggest consumers - and this may be a surprise - are the people of United Arab Emirates, followed by Morocco and then Ireland! 

Elkhorns

My grandmother, and her sisters, treasured their tea pots - one for every day, one for special occasions and one for decoration but today most people don't own a tea pot because teabags have replaced brewing in the pot. But, tea post are still included in children's toys and cartoons. Gone are the tea pots and knitted tea cosies, tea caddies and spoons, and the tradition of one for each person and one for the pot. Even the ferns miss out as tea drinkers who don't want to waste the used tea bags 'feed' them to elkhorns in their garden.

Some healthy things people say about tea: 

Green tea and white tea especially are praised for many health benefits, including antibiotic effects, anti-cancer properties, boosting of the immune system, lowering of cholesterol levels and improvement of cardiovascular health.
Tea contains vitamins B2, B1 and B6 and is also rich in potassium, manganese, folic acid and calcium.
Tea contains half the amount of caffeine found in coffee.
One cup of white tea contains the same amount of antioxidants as 10 cups of apple juice.
Tea can help soothe a sore throat, black, green and oolong tea have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may help alleviate symptoms.

Times to avoid tea:
Black tea can block iron absorption from foods and supplements so it's best to avoid tea when taking vitamins or eating foods that are rich in iron.
Green tea is a significant source of vitamin K, which can interfere with the effects of blood thinners such as warfarin.

A few other uses for tea: 

The used tea leaves can be beneficial as fertilizer for the garden.
Used tea leaves can absorb odours in the refrigerator.
Tea in a foot bath can eliminate some foot odours.

Interesting things said about tea:
The water source, temperature and brewing time effect the taste of the tea.

Half a kilo of loose tea can make about 200 cups of tea.
An experienced picker can collect over 30 kg of tea a day!
Until the 19th century, solid blocks of tea were used as money in Siberia.
Tea breaks are a tradition that have been with us for approximately 200 years.
Drinking 4 cups of tea a day is recommended for health.
Tea is a natural source of fluoride that could protect against tooth decay and gum disease.
The first book about tea was written by Lu Yu in 800 A.D.
Apart from tourism, tea is the biggest industrial activity in India.
98% of people have milk in their tea, but only 30% have sugar.
Tea bags were invented in America in the early 1800s. 
Tea bags were originally made of silk and were used to hold tea samples from India.

Slightly damp tea leaves can repel insects.

And I don't know if any of these things are true.

'Women are like tea bags. They don't know how strong they are 

until they get into hot water.'   Eleanor Roosevelt.

ICE TEA FACE TREAT

2 cups water

1 green tea bag, or loose green tea (for antioxidants)

2 teaspoons turmeric powder (antibacterial, exfolient)

1 tablespoon honey (moisturiser and softens)

2 -3 teaspoons rose water (smells nice)

Prepare:

Steep the tea in boiling water until you have a brew of very strong tea.

Open the teabag if using one, the leaves act as an exfolient.

Stir in turmeric, honey and rose water. 

Pour into a standard ice cube tray and into the freezer.

Use:

Wash your face with warm water to open the pores.

Rub a tea ice cube all over your face for several minutes, paying attention to the forehead, nose and chin.

With your fingers, gently massage the turmeric/tea leaf residue over your face to exfoliate.

Rinse off with cold water.

Finish with a splash of witch hazel or other toner, and moisturise.

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... and WASHING clothes.

Australia currently has quite a few interesting female comedians, or comediennes as was once the female term. A little list of some I enjoy is strangely Irish in flavour - Kitty Flanagan, Judith Lucy, Corinne Grant, Michelle Laurie, Julie Morris, Fiona O'Loughlin, Denise Scott, Gina Riley - with Fiona being a favourite.  Her dry-as-dust tales of life with five kids and a husband in Alice Springs actually make me laugh out loud - and it must be funny, not just silly, for me to laugh.

Fiona claims that she escapes to the stage of comedy clubs as a way of coping with family life ... though as I can't imagine there are too many comedy clubs in Alice Springs, in the middle of the desert, her escapes must include a long weekend in Adelaide or Melbourne. Nice.

One of her top tips for surviving the daily grind is - just chop some garlic and onion into a hot pan with oil and stir. When they all come in with stomachs growling they'll smell it and think something is happening - clear out of the kitchen and don't bother the cook - thus buying yourself another half hour to finish your coffee before starting the real meal preparation.  The phrase ' chop up some garlic and onion' is applied to a number of situations in our house.

I've recently realised that washing on the line has become my version of this.  After a 3am session of writing, editing, drawing, sewing etc - activities I really enjoy, I crawl out of bed at 10am and stagger to the washing machine.  If, late the night before, I'd put on a load of washing it would be there in the laundry basket, and I'd just have to peg it out -  giving me half an hour to doddle around the house until I am fully awake. When Big R comes up from the paddock for his 10.30 cuppa the washing line is full and housework seems to be underway. Big grin.

My washing line

And watching the drying process is very relaxing. It's lovely to sit back and admire that line of clean sheets or blindingly white nappies flapping in the breeze.  I was delighted to hear my darling nephew Jos, back in the day his youngest child, who is now 12, was a very little baby, say he thought a line full of clean white nappies was a lovely sight.  Delighted .... because men usually do not fully appreciate that style of domestic art.

J and K with middle child and a line full of nappies

Of course 'washing on the line' can be translated as laundry.  Why we use the verb washing instead of the noun that belongs there is a mystery, but that's Aussie English.  We 'do' the washing, peg out the washing, dry the washing, bring in the washing, fold the washing and put it away. Some of these jobs are done in the laundry - and that should probably be laundry room, where we keep the laundry basket and the laundry soap.

One of my favourite family stories came to me through one of my grandmother's sisters. They lived in a one room house on a dairy farm at the foot of the blue mountains west of Sydney.  The seven children were born between 1883 and 1894 and they were poor farmers - though I have seen, in old newspapers, that they won prizes at the local show for cows and jam etc. 

There was no electricity in the house, cooking was done over a wood fire, the children wore underwear sewn from flour sacks and slept on bags stuffed with straw. With the house full of children the parents had very little quiet time. The children remembered falling asleep to the sound of their parents voices coming from outside, as they discussed the day's work and future plans - mother Annie pegging washing on the line, and father, John, holding the hurricane lantern and helping with the big heavy items.  When people are so busy with hard physical work, simple tasks may seem like a break.

Bush washing line with prop

I don't think Annie bashed her clothes on rocks in the river or scrubbed them with sand to get the dirt out, but washing for a family of nine people would have been hard work and a never ending job. 

First collect the water - from stream, pump or tank, possibly in buckets and carry to whatever tub or basin she used for washing.  To remove dirt from clothes you soap and rub and rub and rub. If Annie was lucky she had a wood fired copper - and that's an adjective turned noun. The copper tubs were on legs, or stands, with room underneath for a fire. When the water reached boiling it melted grease and the bubbling action agitated the clothing, removing the dirt which was trapped by Annie's homemade soap flakes. A long stick, in our house called The Copper Stick, was used to move the clothes around and also to lift them from the hot water. I've actually continued to have a 'laundry' stick for poking things into the machine ... and killing spiders. 

I remember these wooden pegs, often called dolly pegs
because children like me turned them into dolls

Then more water was needed for rinsing before wringing everything out by hand. That requires incredible strength of hand, wrist and forearms. Just imaging trying to wring water from sheets! Two strong men would find it hard work.  Hand wringing hot cloth made incredible wrinkles so good clothes were often ironed before they were completely dry just to get those wrinkles out again.

The wringer, or mangle was another laundry aid. The heavy metal device, with wooden rollers was mounted over laundry tubs and operated by turning a handle. The washing was fed through the rollers, handle turned, fabric squashed flat and the water ran into the tub to be saved and used again. Many fingers were squashed flat, and long hair torn out, in wash houses and laundries. They were even more frightening when attached to washing machines and powered by electricity.

A wringer mounted over concrete laundry tubs

During the 1950's our new laundry had both electric washing machine and a gas powered copper. But, later, as a student I lived in a few old houses where a copper was the only furniture in the laundry (room). I hated the whole procedure and would usually opt for the Laundromat. To me the copper was time consuming, unnecessary, hard work, and I had the alternative. 

The coppers also came in handy for boiling Christmas puddings. My grandmother made about a dozen a year as gifts - that was the number of puddings she could fit into the copper. The puddings were then 'hung' in the laundry for about two weeks.

Boiling puddings

The invention of washing machines set women free. and moved puddings back to the kitchen, but even the first of the 'modern' washing machines were mechanical, and very hard work. But then electricity was invented and that changed the world.

The Hill's Hoist was an Aussie invention and was a great space saver in the backyard
and a play area for kids - we've all been in trouble for swinging on the Hills

My great grandmother Annie Wilmington Morehead was born in 1854 and died in 1940.  During her 86 years she went from hand washing clothes in tubs to boiling them in a copper using wood fire and then gas. I'm sure that even if she didn't use an electric washing machine herself in her later years she certainly would have seen one, and that's amazing.

AN AFTERTHOUGHT:
When my children left home it took me two or three years to adjust - the washing was one thing I found difficult... or lack of it after all those years. I'd go into the laundry and wonder what to do. When I saw this sign on facebook it meant a lot - and I agree, be glad of the washing you do, it means you have someone to care for. 

serving real HEROES

I am very proud to be working with a group known as Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry bags, supporting our men and women deployed overseas. Between January 2012 and August 2013 AHQ  sent 1868 quilts and 3005 laundry bags to Aussies serving overseas.

It began in October 2011 as an activity for one Sydney quilting group who made and posted 15 laundry bags and 24 quilts to a group of soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. The response was so heart warming that the group were inspired to sew for deployed relatives and friends of friends and by the 1st of January 2012 the blog was launched and the group was becoming an Australia wide organisation with ALL our Aussie men and women serving overseas on their list.   

It is not possible to count the people involved because it's purely voluntary and people contribute when and how they are able. Even the core group has changed over time, except for the original co-ordinator and founder Jan-Maree, former RAAF herself, who receives requests, assigns missions and keeps track of the projects.  And, she also sews.  We all sew in one way or another, many sew laundry bags, some make patchwork blocks, some sew the blocks together to make quilts, some appliqué, some just quilt and many are able to combine all those talents and turn out full quilts.

The age of AHQers ranges from 7 years up to 101 and we include several men in the ranks. There are people sewing for Aussie Heroes in every state and territory of Australia and even a few from overseas. Those who sew are married, single, mothers, grandmas, wives or children of service men and women, ex-serving members, wives of veterans, and people who just care a lot.

Applique blocks and laundry bags

Laundry bags and quilts are sent in response to requests received from serving members - for themselves, the men serving under them or their mates. Other requests come from wives, girlfriends or mothers. Sometimes a box of laundry bags will be sent to a chaplain to be handed out to men and women, who do not receive other mail. Our parcels go to Army, Air Force and Navy personnel, in several different countries and at sea. To keep track of so many items and so many recipients, all orders go through Jan-Maree.

So the next question is why? 

Don't our armed services supply the needs of serving members?

The answer is yes, they do - but in bulk, and everything looks alike. Laundry bags for example are issued in plain white or green or sometimes pale blue. You write your initials on the outside with a marker pen and take the bag, filled with your dirty uniform, to the laundry. Some laundries are huge and are run by local people. You drop off your bag and come back a few days later to find hundreds of laundry bags waiting, all look exactly the same. It is common for soldiers to lose their laundry in this situation and much time is wasted looking for belongings that have been taken by mistake. 

Colourful laundry bags

Other posts have a small DIY laundry. You put your dirty uniform into a washing machine and leave your laundry bag on top. There is no time to stand around waiting, you might only be on base for two days and have other things to catch up with like eating and sleeping, so the machine is left to do the job. When the load is finished the next person pulls out the wet contents and loads them into a dryer with the laundry bag hanging on the door. When that dryer is needed by someone else your clothes are removed and stuffed into your laundry bag. You return to find your laundry, hopefully washed, dried and bagged, waiting. BUT some of these bags are mesh and hard to name, some are plastic shopping bags or clones of standard issue and easily mixed up so, once again, you have the frustrating task of searching for a clean uniform or going without.

AHQ laundry bags are made of bright fabrics with patches for initials or even the actual initials stitched on the outside. The most important thing is THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT.  Just imagine how red and orange stripes or big pictures of daffy duck would stand out in a pile of lookalike bags.

Laundry bag (hanging) and quilt made for a RAAF fireman

And quilts. Aren't most of our deployed service men and women in hot deserts?  Well many of them are, but it can get pretty cold in the desert at night and did you know that it snows in Afghanistan in winter?  But our washable cotton quilts are not just for warmth, they are for colour and caring and to bring something from home into a harsh environment. They brighten up a dreary sleeping area or wrap around the shoulders of lonely men, like a big hug.  In fact the size we use, length and width is designed to do exactly that.

Quilts in the desert

We also make WWQs (wounded warrior quits) and some are kept on hand to be transported to hospital with the wounded. Sadly, there is the occasional need for a Fallen Warriors Quilt.  You can read more about this on the blog.

WWQ always have an Aussie theme

And the rewards? We get many rewards in the form of messages that are received every week and shared at - http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com.au 

Thank you so very much for my laundry bag! I absolutely love the colours and patterns. I really appreciate the effort and time you have taken to create this for me.  Receiving this gift has completely made my day and it will be something that will make me smile every time I look at it on our continuing patrols in the Middle East. It is easy to forget that other people apart from family appreciate what we are doing and it is very heart warming on these open lonely seas so far from home to be reminded of others back at home thinking of us.

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I am currently serving in the Middle east on deployment and would be honoured to receive an Aussie quilt.   Thank you so much for your kind thoughts it means a lot to us over here as we miss home terribly and to know we are thought of by many back home keeps us going stronger every day.

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Having a network like yours sending these gifts over here not only brings colour to our life, but reinforces the fact that we are not alone.  It is nice to have a constant visual reminder that the folks back home care enough to go to all this effort for us. These quilts and laundry bags are special to us not just for what they are, but also for what they represent.

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Afghanistan is a very bleak place, so it's really nice to have something girlie in a place like that. I have to honestly say that although I have never met you, every time I do my laundry I think of your kindness. I do believe that what goes around comes around, and you have a lot of good coming your way! 

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I am touched by your generosity, kindness and supportiveness to all the troops that are putting their life on the line for our country. It is people like you and your helpers in this project, that make us feel that what we are doing here, and being away from our family and friends for such a long period of time, is worth it.

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Thank you very much for the Quilt and Laundry bag which arrived in country around on the 2nd of June. However, I didn't receive it until the 8th because I've been very busy over the last few weeks.

I would like you to know that I now have a laundry bag that is envied by all who see it.  It is very distinct and has bought many comments. It is also extremely easy to find amongst the piles of washing.

The quilt is awesome. I have it in my room and took it out with me one time, however, I don't think I will be doing that again as it got filthy.  I had to wash it twice.  I felt terrible as I was wondering when I washed it if Sue would be unhappy with me. She did say this is the only Quilt like it in the world. However, it kept me warm and I didn't need to carry around a giant sleeping bag. I hope you are well and all is well with Aussie Hero Quilts. Thank you once again. 

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I am so pleased to hear about a quilt group sewing for such a worthy cause. I am a quilter who is deployed (separated from my machine - oh the injustice),  I started quilting many, many moons ago.  This email is because I would love a quilt.  I  have never had one made for me and it would give me great pleasure to receive one.  I have actually been going around camp admiring those who have chosen to put theirs on display and I try to view as many as possible.  I really am experiencing my own private quilt show - what fun.

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Hi Ladies,  Just a quick note to say how awesome the quilt and laundry bags are that XXX received from you.  I had a look at your blog and I think it is a fantastic thing that you are doing. What a great bunch of ladies! I love the kangaroo on XXX's quilt. I think you ladies are the Aussie Hero's - it is always great when people appreciate us.

I have a bright doona cover over here, so do not need a quilt but would really love a bright, loud laundry bag if someone has the time.

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The impact your group is having is just incredible.  I have made it my mission to ask everyone I meet if they have a quilt.  It is just amazing seeing grown men melt as they talk about "their" quilt.  The disbelief they have of a group of caring people actually taking the time and making the effort to put so much work into an item blows them away and they cannot believe that you ask for nothing for in return.  I met a guy only  a couple of days ago who said that he only had a laundry bag now, I asked him why?  He told me that he received a Star Wars quilt and it was just brilliant.  He was showing it off, when his mate begged to have it as he was such a big star wars fan.  He did not have the heart to say no and passed it over.  He found great pleasure in giving too.  The impact on morale is just beautiful. The laundry bags are all being used and it seems to be a fashion statement for some.  It's nice to see them sitting on top of the washing machines to mark which tub has their items. 

Laundry in Kandahar

You can find AHQ on facebook

or see the blog here 

http://aussieheroquilts.blogspot.com.au  

A group quilt, blocks made by different people and others putting it together

                "We care about the people, not the politics or the mission."

looking at AFGHANISTAN

We've heard the word Afghanistan regularly, on the TV news, for many years now but what do we know about the country?.  I remember reading a book about people crossing mountains to Pakistan and more recently watched a Ross Kemp TV show of his time with the British army, and that's a sad introduction to a country.

We've heard of Persian carpets and Afghanistan is one place where they are produced. In the 1960's knitted wool rugs and blankets were called Afghans, and Afghan dogs became the fashionable pet.  In Australian history, it was Afghan camels and their handlers who helped to explore and develop South Australia and the outback.

 But, movies and books set in Afghanistan are usually sad, verging on depressing, because of their history. The Kite Runner, both a movie and a book, is certainly worth reading and the movie is a view of daily life. 

The little coffee shop of Kabul, and The Kabul Beauty School, were written by an American woman who lived in Kabul. I was told to read them as works of fiction as there has been some controversy over her claim that they are true stories.

The Dressmakers of Khair Khana, is about daily life for city women under the Taliban and worth reading. The women start their own business at home, making clothes, which interested me. It seems printed textiles are not available and most clothing is plain dyed fabric decorated with bead work. 

A list of other books, which I have not read, can be found on line. And, now that I've been browsing I plan to read The Sewing Circles of Serat -  about sewing groups used as a front for educating women.

Below is part of a letter from an Australian, deployed in Afghanistan this year.  The photos are from other service sources.

2013 - from Afghanistan:

A little about our deployment. Our rotation arrived in Afghanistan in early May and for the majority we are expected to stay until the closure of the much publicised multinational base Tarin Kot.  We are expected to be home for Christmas and that's all I ask really. Although I am prepared to stay until I have to.

The weather is hot, dry, very sandy and exceptionally dusty in Tarin Kot. I also had the pleasure of visiting Kandahar very recently for two days. I couldn't believe it, but it was even hotter there. The second day it reached 48 degrees. I'm so glad I was only passing through. 

The country side is very hilly (or should I say mountainous).They are huge. I haven't seen anything of their size before. Spectacular. Occasionally you see green, you then know there is a river running nearby. Where there is water there are generally houses running along it, the houses are flat roofed and are in a compound type structure. This I've only seen from the air, moving off base doesn't happen for me. 

The accommodation here is good, we are in large buildings which we refer to as Bunnings buildings as they are like massive green sheds. The rooms are small, I share with two other ladies. We sleep in bunk beds, so we have two sets of bunks and I cupboard and shelf each. This leaves us enough floor space to get changed etc. I don't think I've ever slept in a bunk bed, even as a child. I am the lucky one though, as I have the bottom bunk and no-one above me.

The shower facilities are quite good. We are however limited to two minute showers, due to the water availability and the ability of the sewage system to handle it. 

The food is great with large quantities and variety, including fresh fruit and vegetables. This will change though as we get closer to leaving and handing the base over to the Afghans.

I hope I haven't rambled on too much and have given you a rough insight into life as I see it in Afghanistan. Once again, I thank you for your continued support to the Australian Defence Personnel.

TK 2012

TK

And a few facts and figures to help your understanding, with a brief history of Afghanistan at the bottom.

Geography
The map: bordered on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the extreme northeast by China, on the east and south by Pakistan, and by Iran on the west.  The country is split east to west by the Hindu Kush mountain range, rising in the east to heights of  7,315 m (24,000 ft). Except in the southwest, most of the country is covered by high snow-capped mountains, traversed by deep valleys.Total Size: 647,500 square kmWorld Region:  Asia - Coordinates: 33 00 N, 65 00 ETerrain: mostly rugged mountains; plains in north and southwest. Lowest Point: Amu Darya 258 m  Highest Point: Nowshak 7,485 mClimate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers.Major cities: KABUL (capital) 3.5 million, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif,  Charikar and Herat. 

Economy

National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Afghanestan.

Currency: Afghani (AFA)

Major Industries: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; hand woven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper.

Agricultural Products: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins.

Natural Resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones
Major Exports: opium, fruits and nuts, hand woven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems 
Major Imports: capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products
Arable land: 12.13%.
Agriculture: opium, wheat, fruits, nuts; wool, mutton, sheepskins, lambskins. Unemployment: 35%,
Labour force: 15 million; agriculture 80%, industry 10%, services 10%.
Natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulphur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.
Industry: small-scale production of textiles, soap, furniture, shoes, fertilizer, cement; hand woven carpets; natural gas, coal, copper.
Exports: opium, fruit and nuts, hand woven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semiprecious gems.
Imports:  capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products.
Major trading partners: Pakistan, India, U.S., Germany.

Communications 

Telephones: main lines in use: 140,000; mobile cellular: 13 million.
Radio broadcast stations: AM 21, FM 5, shortwave 1.
Television broadcast stations: about 7.
Internet users: 1,000,000.

The People

Government: Islamic republic 

National Symbol: lion 
Languages : Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism 
Nationality: Afghan(s) Ethnicity: Pashtun 42%, Tajik 27%, Hazara 9%, Uzbek 9%, Aimak 4%, Turkmen 3%, Baloch 2%, others 4%.Religion: Sunni Muslim 80%, Shi'a Muslim 19%, other 1%
Literacy rate: 28.1%

A Brief History:

Afghanistan is surrounded by larger more-powerful nations and has changed hands over the centuries as new empires made war with each other, often using Afghanistan as the battle field.

Prior to Alexander the Great entering the area in 328 BC, Afghanistan was under the rule of the Persian Empire. Over the next thousand years invaders took over the country on the way to other places, including the Huns, Turks, Arabs, and finally the Mogol invasion by Genghis Khan in 1219.

The area was led by various warlords and chiefs all vying for power until Ahmad Shah Durrani came into power in 1747. He helped to unite the people and create Afghanistan.

In 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. They backed the Karmal Regime. The geography of the country made it a difficult place to have a war.  The rebels harassed and fought the Soviet troops over several years, making it tough for the country to have peace. In 1989 the Soviet Union had enough of the fighting and withdrew.
Suddenly there wasn't anyone in charge. The country went into anarchy, various warlords took over and in the 1990's the Taliban came into power. They began training and harbouring terrorists.  In 2001 the United States - with the United Nations - decided to do something about it.  This war is ongoing.

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Afghan Hound