Bamiyan Valley

The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley is an outstanding representation of Gandharan Buddhist art and culture in Central Asia.
The kingdom of Bamiyan was a Buddhist state that was strategically located on the Silk Road and was an important centre of pilgrimage. The site consists of eight components, including caves with painted decorations and Buddha statues carved into the cliffs. The cliffs held two standing Buddhas, measuring 55 and 37 meters high respectively, that were the largest examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world. They were deliberately destructed in March 2001 by the Afghan Taliban government and only the niches remain.
Community Perspective: Sidney visited in 1971 and witnessed a spectacular sunset on the Buddha statues. Noone since has reviewed it, although Bamiyan is usually part of Afghanistan travel itineraries.

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sidney
It was not exactly a day more like a 2 week experience in 1971. The most amazing place on my journey East. I had the good fortune to sit on the Giant Buddhas head and meditate and watch the sun rise over the Hindu Kush and watch those mountain peaks turn a color red that I had never seen in my life. The sunset on the buddha was just as spectacular. Lost to us forever by forces from hell. I also had the good fortune to ride horses over the fiords of Band I Amir lakes. I will never forget my trip to Bamiyan, I cried when I saw the destruction of the Buddha, I cried for all our loss but most of all for Hazra people who no longer have the magic of the Buddha. Sidney
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Site Info
- Full Name
- Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley
- Unesco ID
- 208
- Country
- Afghanistan
- Inscribed
-
2003 - In Danger
- Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
-
1 2 3 4 6
- Categories
- Cultural Landscape - Relict Religious structure - Buddhist
- Link
- By ID
Site History
2003 In Danger
"suffered from abandonment, military action and dynamite explosions. Parts of the site are inaccessible due to the presence of antipersonnel mines."
2003 Inscribed
1983 Deferred
Deferred as conditions under which recommendation made not yet fulfilled
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The site has 8 locations
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12 Community Members have visited.