Shindand, Herat
| Shindand | |
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 Shindand
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| Coordinates: 33°18′13″N 62°8′24″E / 33.30361°N 62.14°ECoordinates: 33°18′13″N 62°8′24″E / 33.30361°N 62.14°E | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Province | Herat Province |
| District | Shindand District |
| Elevation | 3,497 ft (1,066 m) |
| Time zone | UTC+4:30 |
Shindand (Pashto: شين ډنډ; is a town and the center of the Shindand District, Herat Province, Afghanistan. It is located at 33°18′13″N 62°08′24″E / 33.3036°N 62.14°E at 1066 m Altitude. Near the town is Shindand Airbase (a military and civil airport).
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, 1979-1987, the 5th Guards Motor Rifle Division was headquartered in the town.
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[edit] Etymology
Until the 1989s, the city was a part (district) of Farah. During the era of Dr. Najibullah Ahmadzai it came as a district of Herat, the nameShindand means "green pond" in Pashto.[1]
[edit] Ethnography
The city is mainly inhabited by Pashtuns and a small number of other ethnic groups like Sayids, Chahar Aimaks (a sub-group of Tajiks) and Balochs. The famous warlord and former Mujaheddin leader, Amanullah Khan, an ethnic Pashtoon and the warlord Ismail Khan, come from Shindand.
[edit] Location and infrastructure
The town is bordered on the north by Shindand Air Base, currently occupied by Afghan, US and Italian forces of the Anti-Taliban International Security Assistance Force coalition. The airfield is a former Soviet airfield, repaired by U.S. forces. The area is flat and arid, with foothills to the north and west. Cell phone towers, controlled by Iranians go off the air at 8 pm daily.[citation needed] The town is adjacent to Highway 1 (the Ring Road), the only paved highway in all of western Afghanistan. A free medical clinic supported by the Afghan National Army provides free medical care for the population of the town.
The town is at the northern end of Zirko Valley, which is one of main centers of poppy production in Western Afghanistan as well as a confirmed Taliban government. Shindand is located south of Adriskan, where a large police training facility exists.
[edit] See also
[edit] Literature
- Louis Dupree, Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1973; Ludwig W. Adamec, Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan, 3rd ed., 2003.
- S.I. Bruk, Narody Peredney Azii (1960); S.I. Bruk, and V. S. Apenchenko, Atlas Narodov Mira (Moscow: Academy of Science, 1964) A. Gabriel, Religionsgeographie von Persien (Vienna, 1971).
[edit] References
- ^ L.W. Adamec, Historical And Political Gazetteer Of Afghanistan, Vol. 3, Herat and Northwestern Afghanistan, Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1972, ISBN 0321008575, p. 343
[edit] External links
- photo of Shindand market vendor Robert Lankenau, 2005-03-26
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