Afghanistan
Bamiyan Valley
Bamiyan Valley by Luis Filipe Gaspar
The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley are an outstanding representation of Gandharan Buddhist art and culture in Central Asia.
The kingdom of Bamiyan was a Buddhist state strategically located on the Silk Road and an important pilgrimage center. The site has 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 destroyed 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. Wojciech has described the situation he found in 2024, when he saw the now empty niches and two further components.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (ID: 208)
- Country
- Afghanistan
- Status
-
Inscribed 2003
Site history
History of Bamiyan Valley
- 1983: Deferred
- Deferred as conditions under which recommendation made not yet fulfilled
- 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
- Inscribed
- In Danger
- "suffered from abandonment, military action and dynamite explosions. Parts of the site are inaccessible due to the presence of antipersonnel mines." Since 2003
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- i
- ii
- iii
- iv
- vi
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- bamiyanculturalcentre.org — Visit Bamiyan
- news.bbc.co.uk — Link
News Article
- April 22, 2023 theartnewspaper.com — Italy throws Afghanistan a lifeline for restoration in the Bamiyan area
- April 27, 2022 theartnewspaper.com — Taliban orders coal traders to leave Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley
- Feb. 9, 2022 news.artnet.com — A Rogue Taliban Governor Has Been Digging Beneath the Ruins of the Bamiyan Buddhas, Chasing a Rumor of Buried Treasure
- Nov. 25, 2021 cnbc.com — The Taliban destroyed Afghanistan’s ancient Buddha statues. Now they’re welcoming tourists.
- Nov. 11, 2021 gandhara.rferl.org — Video Shows Taliban Using Remnants Of Bamiyan Buddhas For Target Practice
- Sept. 14, 2021 english.kyodonews.net — Bamiyan artifacts pillaged amid Afghan turmoil
- Feb. 27, 2020 menafn.com — Preparing the Removal of Bamiyan from the List of World Heritage in Danger
- July 30, 2018 www3.nhk.or.jp — Afghanistan shelves plan to restore Bamiyan Buddha
- Jan. 25, 2018 gandhara.rferl.org — Official Warns Of Vanishing Archeological Sites In Bamiyan Valley
- Dec. 1, 2016 dailymail.co.uk — Rebuilding history? Debate rages over lost Afghan Buddhas
- June 15, 2015 theatlantic.com — Bamiyan Buddhas rise again in 3D
- Feb. 9, 2014 khaama.com — Bamiyan Buddhas unauthorized reconstruction work stopped
- Feb. 18, 2012 thehindu.com — Destroyed Bamiyan Buddha statues not to be rebuilt
- March 18, 2011 ipsnews.net — Ancient Buddhas Will Not Be Rebuilt - UNESCO
- May 5, 2008 nzherald.co.nz — UN says remaining Bamiyan Buddha statues did not suffer from blast by NZ soldiers
- Dec. 10, 2006 sfgate.com — World ponders rebuilding biggest Buddhas
- July 26, 2006 news.yahoo.com — Ancient Persian drawing found in Afghan Buddhist cave
Community Information
- Community Category
- Religious structure: Buddhist
- Cultural Landscape: Relict
Travel Information
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View all (29) .Connections of Bamiyan Valley
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- Geography
- Architecture
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- WHS Names
News
- theartnewspaper.com 04/22/2023
- Italy throws Afghanistan a lifelin…
- theartnewspaper.com 04/27/2022
- Taliban orders coal traders to lea…
- news.artnet.com 02/09/2022
- A Rogue Taliban Governor Has Been …
Community Reviews
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I visited the monuments of Bamyan during one day in September 2024. For an appetizer, there was Shahr-i Ghulghulah, which can be translated as the City of Screams. This rather terrifying name comes from the destruction of the city by Genghis Khan's troops, which left no one alive. Apparently this was because Genghis Khan's beloved grandson had been killed earlier during the siege of Bamyan, but the Mongols did not need too many excuses to destroy everything living among their defeated opponents. The City of Screams never recovered from this massacre and today it is a complex of charming ruins on the mountainside.
The main course was something that doesn't exist. The world's largest standing Buddha statues, carved into rocks in the 6th century AD. and barbarously destroyed by the Taliban during their first rule in 2001. Despite several attempts and the scaffolding existing for unknown reasons, these statues have not been recreated, only niches remain. They can be viewed from below and above, because a system of corridors led to the head of each statue. Currently, the corridors located next to the smaller, 37-meter statue are open. Visiting the niches is more of an exercise in the imagination, because without the statues they are much less interesting. As a side note - it seems that the current Taliban are more liberal for now, but in my opinion this is just an illusion. After consolidating their power, they may return to the barbaric practices known from 1996-2001.
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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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