Farah (Persian: فراه) is one of the
thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the west of the country. Its
capital is Farah. Farah is a spacious and sparsely populated province that
lies on the Iranian border.
Geographically the province is approximately 18,000 square miles, making it
(comparatively) more than twice the size of Maryland, or half the size of
South Korea. The province is bounded on the north by Herat, on the northeast
by Ghor, the southeast by Helmand, the south by Nimroz, and on the west by
Iran. It is the fourth largest province in Afghanistan.
The province is home to a great many ruined castles including the "Castle of
the Infidel" just south of Farah City.
Culture
The
people of Farah have a reputation for being very courageous and hard working
and being interested in land and money, the latter mainly due to the
deprivation Farah has been historically subjected to.
Farah is associated with such diverse phenomena as dried meat, bigamy
(among the less educated ones) and large families (families typically have a
minimum of four children). Ethnically, Farah Province has a Pashtun
majority. There is a Tajik belt around the capital city. There are also a
couple of areas where Aimaks predominate.
The culture of Farah is patriarchal, where the tribal leaders, almost always
men, are highly respected. Family pride is strongly valued and family
members are taught to respect it and ensure that it is maintained at all
times.
