twenty years in germany in a place near frankfurt his wife and children still live there but ten years ago he chose to return to afghanistan. when we should have in those then when i was in germany you know whether it really bothered me and when it's coming i've got a sudden when i returned to afghanistan i felt better. in desperation. i have a lot of light and oxygen at work every day thanks to the gun. shows only stuff. he's not scared of attacks security has been tightened dramatically since a murderous attack by the taliban five years ago. this church here is securities very good here. just the. police the police are over there the police yes. there are checkpoints everywhere. i have platform control. this is

the best and friendly spot in afghanistan. good to see this and then we got a cell phone so the c.s. . and things do remain calm in and around kabul today there are no reports of attacks if it were always this way more foreign visitors would perhaps come and experience the relaxing atmosphere of lake kaka. here in northwest afghanistan a wedding is about to take place and not a conventional one there are the obligatory security checks at the entrance ops there's in the gallery above the hole sixteen couples are waiting to be true they will look into each other's eyes for the first time only after the ceremony custom demands that the bride hides her face until the end of the wedding the seating arrangement is very strict the men sit on the left and the women on the right they're largely from poor backgrounds and almost the loss of the knowledge that is

in my family has no money. and that my income is just enough for the bare minimum. that's why i'm grateful i can get married today. to see the moment. i'm happy my mother is here along with my sister my aunt and two other relatives. well enough one and. there's one cake for all the wedding guests donated like the cost of the entire event by business people from the surrounding area. these women are responsible for the organization they chose the couple's depending on their level of need. but the ferocious we've been engaged for six years i responded to a cancer fight ad and applied for the wedding for the two of us for their mother's

day thanks be to allah we were picked was all over there hello. the master of ceremonies hats the parade of couples carrying the qur'an the procession looks like a t.v. event and indeed a local broadcast is transmitting the ceremony life the couples have dressed up in their final refold the ok sion ball wrote finery. almost at the same time a few streets away there's a regular wedding in one of the city's huge wedding holes the catering alone costs twenty thousand euros the average wage is less than two thousand euros in afghanistan as a result many afghans take on a huge debt when they get married. in western countries couple spend a lot of money in nightclubs before the wedding here in afghanistan the wedding is the one big celebration so it's fine if it costs

a little bit more. to after the meal comes to party the men dance among themselves. the women celebrate next door where cameras off a bit in. the country's fourth biggest city still maintains traditions although the taliban has no presence here there are strict family customs in place. many women are forced to get married they strive to complains she says the opulent wedding facade mosques the awful reality of marital life. just one percent of all marriages here are based on love that only happens in very liberal families and if a wife is abused by her husband she can't get a divorce her parents tell her to stop making such a fuss. get. for some this marital how and in

hospital every month sees the mission of young women who've tried to kill themselves some just after their wedding doctors talk about a literal epidemic of self burning women who poor petrol over their heads and set themselves a lot if they survive these incidents are called accidents. hope it's often very young girls who were forced to marry by their parents often so very much older men who treat them. guess at some point they see no other way but suicide are going on what sources in some poor families the daughters are sold into marriage for them their wedding day is a day of horror. the mass wedding is approaching its climax a huge surprise awaits the couples and the guests here outs most famous singer will be performing a formal window of afghan stuff while the guests enjoy the entertainment the organizers are already planning the next group wedding.

i bet it. will keep our eye out for applicants via facebook and will find those who don't have access to the internet and must there are enough people who can't afford to get married because of poverty and of the other message it yes it is a massage and among them was just. the celebration last three hours relatively brief by african standards then the young people stopped them married lawyers without veils and without sponsors. this. they sist that geographical heart of afghanistan right between herat in the west and kabul in the east everything seems peaceful here in the province of bomb the un . its main claim to fame is an unparalleled natural attraction

this lake. more than one hundred thousand told arrests come here every year most of them are from afghanistan during the winter season it's possible to skate on the lake which sits at an altitude of two thousand meters during the summer months it's used for bathing and boating. the people here live off tourism bomb neons considered liberal and women work as tour guides to. i'm happy that more and more tourists are coming here it would be nice to see a few more foreign visitors. but the problem is that this place is hard to get to this road goes through territory where this fighting that scares off

people who can't afford to fly john good though. is. the only other attractions more famous than the lake out ones that don't technically exist anymore all that's left are the mother rocky caves where they were blown up by the taliban fifteen years ago the world famous borders of bomb yeah but there's a whole new attraction here now the country's only international marathon the runners registered on the day before the race andre is from germany. to take the. measure but i want to survive i want to finish and it was a time of less than six hours you have respect for the altitude. because that's the biggest problem. i've never run a three thousand meters you can tell you get out of breath faster when you climb some stairs and often come to the races hosted by a british organization. well security is something the race organizers we have to

take very seriously especially given we bring some international run this here it's really a race for the local people but as soon as you stop bringing internationals in then we need to get away of the risks as you can imagine so keeping the race low profile .