Worth knowing
Afghanistan
Lapis lazuli has been dug from Afghanistan's Badakhshan mountains since the Stone Age. Ground to powder, it became ultramarine, a blue that at times cost painters more than gold.
Where its story happens
The lapis lazuli mines of Sar-i Sang, at 36.21°N, 70.79°E. It's the place the game marks on the globe once the country is found. See it on a map.
Five things to know about Afghanistan
In Geodar these are the five clues to this country, and it counts as one of the easy countries. The game asks the hardest clue first. Here the easiest comes first.
- Where it is. It's Afghanistan, a landlocked country between Iran and Pakistan. See Afghanistan on a map.
- Its capital is Kabul, and a silky, long-haired breed of hunting dog is named after it.
- It has no coast, and the Hindu Kush mountains run through the middle of it.
- Its national sport is played on horseback: riders fight to carry a goat carcass to a goal.
- The blue stone in Tutankhamun's gold mask was mined in this country's mountains, thousands of kilometres from Egypt.