Sheep, Afghanistan

Photograph by Matthieu Paley, National Geographic

In this high, barren valley called Little Pamir, survival depends on livestock. Red-robed Kyrgyz girls corral sheep for milking, while dung dries atop the walls for use as fuel. The sheep, along with goats, yaks, and camels, provide milk, meat, and wool and even serve as currency: One lamb buys 110 pounds of flour.

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