My Province, Ghazni

by Hakima

My province is a very beautiful place named Ghazni. Ghazni is located in the southeastern part of Afghanistan. The weather is often chilly and cold compared to Kabul. The main dish is meat stew although in the past it was a dish called “Kitchiree Quroot” which is made of rice, mung beans, meatballs in tomato sauce and spices and yogurt.

Ghazni has two popular dances. One is usually done by Pashtun men and the other is done by Hazara women. The dance done by Pashtun men is called “Attan” and the men form a circle and move around in a circle facing each other. The dance done by Hazara women is a dance called “Pesh Po” that is done at wedding ceremonies. When the bride is coming to her couch the women kneel down before her wearing long veils that cover their faces and swing the ends of their scarves over their shoulders and make the “pesh po” sound with their lips — which is why the dance is called this.

The places that people usually go are the shrines, the towers, the graveyard of Sultan Mahmood–e Ghaznawi and Dasht-e Nawar. Dasht-e Nawar is known for its birds which are called locally, “Mourgh-e Husseini,” literally the “chicken of Hussein.” People outside of Afghanistan know them as flamingoes. As of 2007 they were still thriving in the area. These birds were very beautiful but now I do not know if they are alive there still or not.

Stepping into Ghazni is like stepping into history although it also has courts, transportation, culture and religion. It has been a battleground too and the history of Ghazni is going to turn into ashes one day if we do not work hard, not only in Ghazni but the other provinces as well. It is our job to make sure that each province of our country keeps its traditions, religion and history. We cannot let war turn our history into ashes, we must try hard because once our historical things are gone, we can do nothing to bring them back. If a building was built long ago it might be worn out but a building just like that which is new, can never take its place. The old buildings were built by our ancestors and they show how hard-working the people were, so we must try as hard as them, no matter who we are, from which province we come from, to preserve the history all around us. We must help historical provinces rise up just like Ghazni my beautiful province!