Wakhan

It contains the headwaters of the Amu Darya (Oxus) River, and was an ancient corridor for travellers from the Tarim Basin to Badakshan.

The geographic position of Wakhan between China, India, and Bactria allowed it to play a major role in trade in the ancient world.

[2] An 1873 agreement between UK and Russia split the Wakhan by delimiting spheres of influence for the two countries at the Panj and Pamir rivers.

The eastern extremity of Upper Wakhan is known as the Pamir Knot, the area where the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and Hindu Kush ranges meet.

Historically the Wakhan has been an important region for thousands of years as it is where the western and eastern portions of Central Asia meet.

[10] Wakhan was administered by the Kushan indirectly through semi-independent rulers who oversaw trade on the Buddhist Route of the Silk Road.

[1] Until 1883 Wakhan was a semi-independent principality on both sides of the Panj and Pamir Rivers, ruled by a hereditary ruler (mir) with its capital at Qila-e Panja.

In the 1880s (1880-1895[13]), under pressure from Britain, Abdur Rahman Khan, the Emir of Afghanistan, imposed Afghan rule on the Wakhan.

[14] The last Mir of Wakhan, Ali Mardan Khan fled to Chitral, where he was allotted land in Ishkoman Valley.

In 1949, when Mao Zedong completed the Communist takeover of China, the borders were permanently closed, sealing off the 2,000-year-old caravan route and turning the corridor into a cul-de-sac.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, they occupied the Wakhan and built strong military posts at Sarhad-e Broghil and elsewhere.

The Wakhi practice agriculture in the river valleys, and herd animals in the summer pastures at higher elevations.

[16] Alastair Leithead of BBC News 24 on 26 December 2007, presented a half-hour feature about Wakhan, focusing particularly on the work of the expatriate British doctor Alexander Duncan, which provided a significant piece of extended media reporting from this inaccessible area.

The suppression of the 1916 rebellion against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to later migrate to China and Afghanistan.

They requested 5,000 visas from the United States Consulate in Peshawar for resettlement in Alaska (a region that shares a similar climate and temperature with the Wakhan Corridor).

[11] In recent years the Wakhan has become a destination for adventurous trekkers, and several tour companies offer trips to the area.