The brave merchants of Wakhan, the 'other' Afghanistan
Drivers put up with 5,000m high passes and extreme weather to deliver basic goods to Afghanistan's isolated northeast.
The Wakhan Corridor, a mountainous region situated in the far northeast of Afghanistan, is bordered by the Hindu Kush mountains and peaks, some reaching 5,000 metres.
Isolated from the rest of Afghanistan, the region was spared by the war that raged through the country for years. But many of the territory's residents continue to live as if in the Middle Ages, without water or electricity.
They rely on a handful of merchants to supply them with basic necessities such as salt and flour. Without these goods, the inhabitants of the Wakhan Corridor would struggle to survive the harsh winter, with temperatures dropping below -30 degrees Celsius.
Hadji and his driver, Naqib, travel from village to village along the mountainous region to sell and trade all sorts of merchandise - generators, rice, flour, salt, shoes, car parts, livestock and more.
https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/riskingitall/2019/06/brave-merchants-wakhan-afghanistan-190612073908181.html