Panjshir Valley
The Panjshir Province (also spelled Panjsheer or Panjsher; Persian: درهٔ پنجشير - Dare-ye Panjšir; literally Valley of the Five Lions) is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range.[1] Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River. The valley is home to more than 140,000 people, including Afghanistan's largest concentration of ethnic Tajiks.[2] As of April 2004, it became the heart of Panjshir Province.[3] It is also notable for being the birthplace of Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Name
The name Panjshir, literally meaning "Five Lions", refers to five Wali (literally, protectors), highly spiritual brothers who were centered in the valley. Local legend has it that the five brothers built a dam for Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the early 11th century AD. The foundations serve today for a modern reservoir.
Economy and natural resources
The Panjshir Valley has the potential to become a major center of emerald mining. As early as the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder commented on gemstones from the region.[4] In the Middle Ages, Panjshir was famed for its silver mining and the Saffarids and Samanids minted their coins there.[5] As of 1985, crystals upwards of 190 carats (38 g) had been found there, reported to rival in quality the finest crystals of the Muzo mine in Colombia.[4] American reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan has sparked a development boom in the valley with the construction of new modern roads and a new radio tower that allows valley residents to pick up radio signals from the Afghan capital, Kabul.[6]
Wind farm
Tony Woods, a New Zealand renewable energy specialist, built a 10 turbine wind farm in Panjshir Valley in April 2008.[7]
References
External links
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