Afghanistan's Bloodsport

PowerPoint Show by Andrew

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On Fridays, for some men in Afghanistan, sport is attended as routinely as Friday prayer at the mosque. 

Games with roots dating back to the reigns of Genghis Khan and even Alexander the Great still attract huge crowds. 

They include teams on horseback fighting over headless animal carcasses and dogs battling one on one.

Many were banned by the Taliban's vice and virtue police - but are now widespread again after their defeat. 

Hasan and his dog Diwana wrestle playfully after training at sunrise on top of Bibi Mahru Hill, in central Kabul.

A bloodied but victorious dog is carried off by its trainers after a fight at a Friday event in Badam Bagh.

Dogs clash in the snow at a Friday dog fighting event on Kabul's southwestern outskirts.

Despite the freezing weather, the crowds still flock to see dog fights on the outskirts of Kabul.

An owner runs his dog along the top of Bibi Mahru Hill while the owner's son sits in a car tyre tied to the animal for strength training.

In recent months, some provinces have announced official bans on public dog fighting - not because of animal rights, but due to the possibility of human conflict.

Crowds of men watch a fight at a Friday dog fighting event.

A chapandaz (horseman) on a white horse reaches for the calf carcass as two teammates protect him from rival riders during a buzkashi match in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley. This is one of the country's most loved sports.

Chapandazes battle over the headless carcass of a goat in a buzkashi match. The aim is to get it round a flag and into a white circle.

The referee re-marks the circle where the calf carcass must be placed in order to register a score.

It is said that the Mongols lived and died in the saddle and that buzkashi was their favorite of all games.

A mujahideen commander 'smiled quizzically' when asked if it was true that the carcass of a Soviet soldier was used during a game of buzkashi during the conflict in the 70s.

From a nearby building under construction, a buzkashi match can be seen being played on a purpose-built field in Shahrake Sol.

Two cocks fight a 'friendly' match - without the pointed barbs strapped to their feet - because it is early in the day.

A cockerel owner wets the face of his bird after a friendly fight on a muddy morning that saw just a handful of spectators turn up.

The sport is mainly popular with middle age or older men, who sometimes just come along to chat with friends.

Two kauk (chukar partridge) owners stay close to their birds during a fight in Kabul.

Fights are only held during the colder months or during early mornings in spring, so the cages are covered to keep the birds warm.

They attend meets in order to buy and sell birds as much as to fight them.

A regular Friday kauk-fighting meet on an empty lot between two buildings under construction in Kabul.

Bets can be made on the fights, declared over when one bird submits by escaping the ring or turning away from its opponent.

A Friday cockfight meet in a purpose-built compound in Darul Aman, on Kabul's southern outskirts.

Men leave their places in a crowd to pray the afternoon prayer. Friday is a weekend in Afghanistan.