Northeast Afghanistan is a tit of land between Tajikistan, Pakistan and China, mapped by Europeans in 1895 in an effort to provide a Afghan buffer zone between Britain and Russia. This is a really a land out of time: The people of the Pamir are Ismaili, a moderate Muslim sect with little of the militancy found in other parts of the world. I had run into Ismailism along the Kararkorum when earlier in Pakistan. The Spiritual leader, the Aga Khan was educated and lives in the West, supporting his adherents through his Foundation.
via Jo’s Travel Blog: Pamir Mountains and the Wakhan Corridor June-July 2012 w/ Wild Frontiers.
Ismailimail 