Afghanistan belongs to the twenty-five poorest countries of the world. Its surface area is about eight times the size of the Benelux countries with a population of about 23 million people. Eighty percent of the population is active in agriculture. During its entire history, Afghanistan has formed the partition area between Persia and India. For many centuries, conquerors from both neighbours influenced religion, tradition andfashion. The style of the above shoe is typivally influenced by the western neighbour Persia with its upturned toe and gold brocaded upper. The construction on the other hand is typically Indian : camel leather instead of the by the Hindu religion forbidden cow leather ;uppers and soles hand sewn together with thick cotton yarn. Shoes like this are still worn today.