Afghanistan is a land of contradictions. Take the jagged peaks of the Wakhan corridor, shaped as though clasped between the hands of a mighty god. Though awe-striking in their appearance, the cliffs mean torture on the knees and lungs of the shepherds who roam there. Or see Papaver somniferum (aka opium), which thrives in the dry Gostan valley. Its curvaceous fruit, which erupts into gorgeous blooms of silky pink and white, and may have caused more misery than any other plant on earth.
This dichotomy also exists in a grander sense. Afghanistan is where mankind has waged countless bloody wars.