The destroyed buildings of the old Bamiyan bazaar frame the empty niches where one of the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan once stood,

---

The destroyed buildings of the old Bamiyan bazaar frame the empty niches where one of the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan once stood, carved into the stone of the red cliff, Bamiyan, August 29, 2002. The Buddhas, which dated back to the 3rd century, were blown up by the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan, but the Buddhas had survived. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people.

---

Size: 4716px × 3135px
Location: Bamiyan,Bamiyan,Afghanistan
Photo credit: © Beth Wald / Aurora Photos / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: asia, bamiyan, buddha, central, cliff, destroyed, destruction, hazarajat, highlands, market, mounta, mountains, rubble, ruins