Kunduz is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically diverse provinces with many different ethnicities in large numbers living there. The city of Kunduz serves as the capital of the province. It borders the provinces of Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan and Balkh, as well as the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan. The Kunduz Airport is located next to the provincial capital.
Image: Kunduz (4325431032)
Image: Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF) soldiers provide security outside of a combat outpost in the Chahar Darreh district of Kunduz province, Afghanistan, June 3, 2013 130603 A CT553 036
Image: Afghanistan Tajikistan Bridge Completion
Sherkhan Bandar, located in the Imam Sahib District of Kunduz province, is the border crossing between Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan.
Turkmens are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the North Caucasus. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Eastern Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages.
Turkmens in folk costume at the 20th Independence Day parade, 2011
Helmet of Ya'qub Beg, ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state (15th century)
Turkmen women's headwear and jewelry
Two Turkmen men standing on a carpet in front of a yurt. Photo by Prokudin-Gorsky between 1905 and 1915