Afghan carpets

Eleven and a half million population, approximately 60 per cent are tribesmen, a large percentage of these are wild and live in mountainous ranges of which most of the country consists. It is difficult to believe that in 1969, they still raid caravans, as in centuries gone by.

The chief road to the capital, Kabul, is through the Khyber Pass from the east and Herat from the west—Herat is believed to have at one time been the capital of the old Persian Empire and many old carpet looms were discovered there in the early part of this century.

These looms dated back to before the twelfth century. The main wealth of the country lies in the enormous flocks of sheep (flat-tailed) and humped cattle, which roam the hills and valleys.