Afghanistan Facts

Afghanistan's first-ever modeling competition in 2009 received over 3,000 applications. Only 10 were from women.

The name Kabul, Afghanistan's capital, likely derives from Sanskrit and Persian words meaning 'high place,' fitting for a city situated 1,790 meters above sea level in the Hindu Kush mountains.

Lucca was a Marine Corps bomb dog who worked Iraq and Afghanistan for six years. In more than 400 missions, no Marine on her patrols was ever hurt. On March 23, 2012, a bomb took her front leg. Her handler carried her out. She was walking again within ten days, and in 2016 became the first US Marine Corps dog awarded Britain's Dickin Medal for bravery. She retired to the Marine who had been her very first handler.