(FILES) In this photo taken on March 21

(FILES) In this photo taken on March 21, 2010, Helicopters fly overhead as Afghan men and women gather to watch a ceremony for Afghan solar-based New Year's or Nowruz celebrations that includes rising a large poll at the Hazrat-i Ali shrine in Mazar-i-Sharif. Thousands of Afghans took to the streets of northern cities to welcome their new year in a joyous celebration of music, dancing and fireworks. Less than 700 kilometres (435 miles) to the south, residents of poverty-stricken villages, towns and cities riddled with mines and plagued by bombings know only war as they struggle for survival. In Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of the northern province of Balkh, authorities estimate that half a million people gathered for Nowruz, a 3,000-year-old Zoroastrian festival marking the Persian new year. AFP PHOTO/FILES/SHAH Marai (Photo credit should read SHAH MARAI/AFP via Getty Images)