Children in front of the Shrine of Khwaja Abu Nasr Parsa, built in the late Timurid style, Balkh (Mother of Cities), Afghanistan, Asia

Aimaq boys in front of yurt, Aimaq nomad camp, between Chakhcharan and Jam, Pal-Kotal-i-Guk, Afghanistan, Asia

Mujeheddin soldier near Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Displaced families in old soviet Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Man selling rugs on banks of Kabul river, Central Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Street market, Central Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Pilgrim at the Shrine of Hazrat Ali, who was assassinated in 661, Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan, Asia

Young Afghan boys, Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan, Asia

Portrait of a Afghan Tajik man, Wakhan corridor, Ishkashim, on the Afghanistan and Tajikistan border, Central Asia, Asia

Mujeheddin Troops, Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Shop keeper and boy in spice shop, bazaar, central Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Local man, between Herat and Maimana, after Subzak Pass, Afghanistan, Asia

Local men, Maimana, Faryab Province, Afghanistan, Asia

Portrait of a man in a white turban in the Tashkurghan Bazaar in Afghanistan, Asia

Mujeheddin commander near Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Children looking out of window of old house, Old City, Kabul, Afghanistan, Asia

Local boy, Maimana, Faryab Province, Afghanistan, Asia

The leader of a band of Kuchi nomads, Hamid, entertains a wildlife survey team and discusses wildlife in the region with biology student Zalmai Moheb, in the range lands near the Turkmenistan border, Kushk-i Kuhna district, Herat Province, Afghanistan

Conservation biologist George Schaller asks local shepherds and policemen about leopards and cheetah, at a border post on the border with Iran, in Gulran District, in the northwest part of Herat Province. Dr. Schaller was making a wildlife survey to see what remained of biodiversity in the Northwest corner of Afghanistan, and interviewed soldiers, shepherds and other Afghans who move through the region to find out what wildlife they had seen.

Young Baluch men on a motorbike ride on a dirt road through a desert landscape brushed with green after spring rains, in the Gulran district near the Iran and Turkmenistan border

A Kuchi man fingers prayer beads in a nomad camp near the Turkmenistan border in, Kushk-i Kuhna district, Herat Province, Afghanistan

Haji Joma Khan, the head of Char Manar village in Gulran District, talks to wildlife biologists in the northwest part of Herat Province.

A guard at Queen Gawhar Shad's mausoleum, stands in front of four tall minarets, once part of a madrassa that was built in the 15th century by the last of the Timurid rulers, in Herat, Herat Province, Afghanistan. One of the finest examples of Timurid architecture, the minarets are spectacular remnants of a much larger complex considered to be one of the finest examples of Timurid architecture

Members of a wildlife survey team, student Zalmai Moheb and team leader George Schaller, discuss wildlife with Kuchi nomads while policeman accompanying the team look on, in the range lands near the Turkmenistan border, Kushk-i Kuhna district, Herat Province, Afghanistan

Villagers from Dera Jawal village, Jamal Addeen and Abdul Rahim, meet in the leader's guest room, Herat Province

A Herati man asks for directions from a border policeman near the Turkmenistan border in, Kushk-i Kuhna district, Herat Province, Afghanistan

A local hunter, Abdul Rahim, talks to the arbob, or leader, of Dera Jawal village, Nur Ahmad, on the edge of a field while a soldier looks on, in the Band-e Baba range, Kushk-i Khuna district, Herat Province, Afghanistan

Men walk along a road at dusk, past mud homes in the Tajik village of Dera Jawal, in the Band-e Baba range, Herat Province, Afghanistan

Policemen talk to nomadic Pashtun herders near their camp at the base of the Dau Shakh desert range, outside the town of Gurian, Herat Province

Women cook over an open fire in the kitchen area of a traditional northern Afghan home on the outskirts of Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan

A young woman prepares to vote for presidential and provincial candidates in national elections, Sultan Razia Girls High School, Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan on August 20, 2009.

Afghan men and their guests eat a traditional feast of rice pilaf, mantu, and other dishes spread out on a plastic cloth, in an Afghan home in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan

Kyrgyz and Wakhi men eat a simple meal of rice and bread in a mud hut at a winter camp in the Little Pamirs, Wakhan Corridor, Badakshan

Afghan men on horseback turn their horses toward the action during a game of

Afghan women vote in the presidential and provincial elections in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan.

A woman scoops mantu, steamed dumplings stuffed with spiced meat, onto a plate to serve to guests, at a home in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan

A farmer plows a field with oxen, near a village with traditional domed homes below green hills, in Kushk-i Kuhna district, Herat Province

Scenes from voting on the day of presidential and provincial elections in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan.

Afghan men vote on the day of presidential and provincial elections in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan, August 20 2009

On the last day of campaigning before the election, crowds gather in the National Stadium for a large rally for a favored presidential candidate, Kabul, Afghanistan.