Kyrgyz Yurt, Afghanistan

Photograph by Mattieu Paley, National Geographic

Blanket-draped yaks hunker down outside a young Kyrgyz couple's yurt on the eve of a summer trading journey. Made of interlaced poles covered with felt, these portable homes are packed up and reassembled for seasonal migration. Wooden doors are imported to the treeless plateau from lower altitudes.

Travel back in time to a 1950 article on the Wakhan corridor » See pictures of Afghanistan »