In Afghanistan, Taliban officials are calling for the preservation of the country's pre-Islamic heritage two decades after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. But skepticism remains about the ...

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in early 2001 shocked the world and highlighted their hard-line regime, toppled soon after in a U.S.-led invasion.

"When I first visited Bamiyan, I was very impressed with the sights of valleys, as well as local children, local people," said the globally acclaimed artist, known for his large laser-beam art works.

UNESCO, citing destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas, urges Afghan cultural protection By Reuters August 19, 20216:52 AM PDTUpdated August 19, 2021 ...

One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in 1997, before their destruction. Photo: Alamy Historian Amanda Foreman searches the past for the origins of today’s world. Read previous columns here.

Maitre had been to Afghanistan many times, but never to Bamiyan. From a hill, he admired the Buddhas, the wheat fields at their feet, and the Hindu Kush mountains behind them. The valley teemed ...

The Buddhas of Bamiyan were a pair of massive statues of robed figures, dubbed the Eastern Buddha and the Western Buddha, that once stood along the Silk Road, a network of trade routes that ...

7 The site of the Bamiyan Buddhas on December 7, 1997. 8 An explosion rips apart one of the Buddhas in March 2001. 9 Taliban militants stand amid the rubble of the destroyed treasures on March 26 ...

Ten years ago, the Taliban systematically destroyed the great Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan—two giant statues that watched over the Bamiyan Valley for 1500 years. Now, extensive studies of the ...

Under debate, right now, is the question of how and whether the statues should be rebuilt. Little remains of the stucco coat and sculpted stone that gave the Buddhas of Bamiyan their definition.

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan — They stand like missing hearts carved out of the mountain's chest, abandoned chambers where ancient wonders of the world once gazed placidly. It's been nearly 10 years ...