What did yo learn?
I learned that it's tough to find a map of "The Roof of the World."
I found that Mapquest labels this area as "No data is available", in other words, "There be Monsters Here," as they used to write on the maps showing the edge of the world.
If there is an edge of the world...this is it.
I found that between this:
lib.utexas.edu
and my National Geographic Atlas (see SW Asia)
and my Encyclopedia Britannica (see Afghanistan)
I could catch a least a glimpse of the Wakhan Corridor ( or Vakhan Corrider)
I learned this "stem" of the leaf-shape thing called Afghanistan is about 200 miles long and only 7 miles wide at some points and was established by the stroke of a pen between the Russians and the Brits.
The Wakan Corrridor ends in the east at the Chinese border.
It is bounded along the northern edge by Tajikistan (the Pamir Mountain range) and along the southern edge by Pakistan.
The Wakhan Corrider was part of the Great Silk Highway. It fell into disuse once ocean-going routes were discovered.
The Pamir Knot is the intersection of five massive mountain ranges. The range running to the southwest toward Kabul and and further into the heart of Afghanistan is called the Hundu Kush.
From Lonely Planet: The mighty Hindu Kush (Killer of Hindus) mountain range, the western extremity of the Himalaya, runs across the country from east to west. The average elevation of this mountainous interior is a lofty 2700m (8856 ft) and the highest peaks reach 7500m (24,600ft) in the northeast. From here rise the major rivers of Afghanistan. The Kabul river flows east into the Indus while most others such as the Helmand, Farah and Harirud disappear into the desert sands.
lonelyplanet.com
The river Oxus runs through a portion of the Wakhan.
At the western entrance of the pan-handle and to the south across the border into Pakistan, lies the town of Chitral, about 150 miles NW of Islamabad.
For a remarkable tale of two female mountaineers who recently trekked (alone!) from Chitral, north-east up through the Wakhan to the source of the Oxus in the Pamirs, were captured by the Russians and interrogated for 9 days, read this:
gore-tex.com
For more info read this:
kashmir-information.com
And now go back and read Snowshoe's piece on how ObL is holed up in the Pamir/Wakhan:
Message 16441371
Finally, my very good friend from college days at Berkeley, Bill Scott, M.D., served as one of the many American volunteer doctors that helped the Afghan rebels during the Afghan-Russian conflict. I have photos of him in full, extremely grubby, native Afghan attire encamped in the Hindu Kush with his rebel companions, armed to the teeth, looking like something off CNN. I have an amazing picture of him wearing a turban and full beard, shaking hands with the Chinese soldiers at the Khunjerab Pass.(16,282 feet) (see Snowshoe's article: siliconinvestor.com
Remarkable how things go full circle...
That's what I learned in school,
--ken/fl
P.S. If thisObL/Pamir story is correct, DEBKA ain't looking so bad after all. |
