The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.
Historical Description
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Afghanistan was the ancient Bactria, one of the provinces of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenids. The region was then ruled by Alexander the Great, the Seleucid dynasty, and the Maurya dynasty of northern India. The Kushans, a group of nomadic tribes, ruled from the 2nd century BCE, reaching the climax in the 2nd cent. CE. The Sasanians controlled Afghanistan from the mid-3rd century, Central Asian nomads ruled in the 5th century; a coalition of Sasanians and Western Turks took the power in mid-6th century. The Silk Roads passed through Afghanistan, and contributed to the diffusion of Buddhism from India in this region in the 1st century CE. The Kushans were patrons of the arts and religion, and were responsible for the introduction of Buddhist art in the Bactrian style, which was influenced by Hellenistic art, and the Sasanians.
Islamic art and architecture were introduced to Bamiyan in the 11th century CE, when the central part of Afghanistan was under the rule of Sultan Mahmud of Chazna (998- 1030). The town of Bamiyan was designed on the model of the Khorassan region of Iran. Under the rule of the Ghurids (1155-1212) the development included the fortified settlements of Shahr-i Bamiyan (later Ghulghulah), Shahr-i Zuhak and Shahr-i Khoshak. The army of Genghis Khan ruined the town of Bamiyan and looted the Buddhist monasteries in the early 13th century. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707) ordered his army to shoot off the legs of the large Buddha. The valley was abandoned for a long period, but at the end of the 19th century, the caves were inhabited and used as shelters for domestic animals. In 1979, there were over 7,000 inhabitants in the Bamiyan town. From the 1970s, the area was used by the military. In the 1990s, it was exposed to armed conflicts. In 2001, the large Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban.
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Bamiyan Valley A Treasure Lost Forever
Bamiyan Valley is situated in the region of Hazarajat, central Afghanistan, at an altitude of about 2500 m. With an outstanding history and a strategic placement in the Middle East, the Bamiyan Valley is considered as one of the most visited places in Afghanistan.
The main reason that most people visit this valley are the “ruined Buddhas”, three colossal statues carved into the cliff of the mountain nearby during the Kushan period. Created in the 6th century by monks, one of the statues in the Bamiyan Valley was 53 m high and the world’s tallest standing statue of Buddha.
Beside these religious “footprints”, the surroundings have a lot of things to offer. For example, the area around the Buddhas is well known for its beauty and a walk around is a journey with outstanding views. There are also caves throughout the mountainside where some of the oldest oil paintings in the world have been discovered, representing an excellent proof regarding the cultural evolution in the Middle East through the past millenniums. If you are interested in more details about Bamiyan Valley,
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Harvest Time
The road to Bamiyan is unpaved but easily passable. As we bounce along along in the CARE MEDICO Volkswagen Van, farmers and families are preparing for winter. Harvesting is almost complete, fall plowing is underway and women spread corn from to on the roofs to dry.
Nothing is wasted in this arid land. Platter-sized patties of dry animal dung is carefully collected and stored on the roof for winter fuel. Young boys gather dead leaves from under the trees in large burlap sacks for animal feed. After a picnic lunch under some carefully irrigated poplar trees, we placed all our trash in a plastic bag to take with us. Our driver insisted that we leave it as the local people will find a use for every scrap.
Caravanserai
The high walls of a neglected Caravanserai rise on the hill above the road. Those who have read James Michener’s book Caravans will remember that a Caravanserai is a haven for nomads. Once inside its walls a person was supposed to be safe. Even bitter enemies were supposed to live in peace inside the Caravanserai.
Red City
Eight hundred feet above the entrance to the Bamiyan Valley are the ruins of the Red City. This fortress of sun-dried red clay was once home to 3,000 people and was the primary defense for the valley during 12th and 13th centuries. In 1221 it was attack by the grandson of Genghis Kahn. The fort held and the grandson was killed. In revenge Genghis Khan himself attacked the valley and destroyed everything including the irrigation systems. The Red City was never rebuild after this attack. The ancient mud walls stand only because there is little rainfall in this desert country to destroy them. Our guide was a local farmer who makes extra cash leading tours to the Red City. He skipped nimbly up the steep path wearing ill-fitting hard-soled shoes. We labored along slipping and sliding in our hiking boots. It did nothing for our egos to learn that this was his third trip of the morning.
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
The first level were the defensive building. The second the living quarters for the ordinary people and the top level at 1000 feet, the royal quarters. What a magnificent view the king enjoyed from his apartment. On one side the end of the Hindu Kush mountain range which continues into Chinas the Himalayan Mountains. On the other side stretches the Koh-I-Baba range on which the Red City is built. Between the two ranges the entrance to the lovely Bamiyan Valley.
On the way down we considered the people who had to carry food, water, and fuel up these cliffs every day. Perhaps they were not sorry it was destroyed.
The Beautiful Bamiyan Valley
The first sight of the Buddhas is breathtaking. During the Third and Fourth Century AD and before the introduction of Islam to this region a large Buddhist colony inhabited the valley. At one time more than 1,000 monks lived and prayed here in caved carved into the cliffs. They created two large figures of Buddha, one standing, the other seated.
The smaller Buddha is 125 feet high and was the first built. It is located in a parabolic niche in the vertical cliff. It was first carved in stone and then plastered with mud and straw and painted red. The roof and walls of the niche were decorated with frescoes, a few of which survive. A maze of tunnels, caves, and rooms encircles the statue. Today it is still possible to climb to the head.
Four hundred yards along the cliff is the large standing Buddha. One hundred and seventy five feet high, it was built after the seated Buddha and is more elaborate. To form the realistic drape of the cloth, ropes were attached to the stone and then plastered with mud.
Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
During the ninth century, Islam was introduced into the country and the Islamic priests in their zeal for the newly introduced religion ordered the faces and hands of the statues destroyed. In the following centuries the caves were used as shelters by the numerous nomads whose fires blackened the ceilings.
Neglected the frescoes weathered away so that only a few speak for the former grandeur that existed. Today the Afghan government , recognizing the historical importance of the Bamiyan statues and with the help of archeological teams is working to protect what remains. An airport now brings tourists to the valley and a paved road is under consideration.
On a cliff opposite the Buddhas is the Bamiyan Hotel. Guests stay in tent-like structures called yerts. The yerts have electric lights which can be used only between 6 and 11 pm. Some have bathrooms with running water (not for drinking) and sanitary facilities. A kerosene heater is lighted each night ward off the chill of the mountain nights. The yert is furnished with felt rugs and cots. Sheep and goats graze on the flowers outside.
The best part of the Bamiyan Hotel is the magnificent view of the Buddhas on the opposite side of the valley and valley floor where the Afghan farmers go about their daily chores oblivious to the historical importance of their surroundings.
Band-I-Amir Lakes
Few visitors to Bamiyan fail to continue on to the Band-I-Amir Lakes. The unpaved road climbs from the valley to the heights of 10,000 feet over barren desolate hills.
In the middle of October surrounding peaks are already snow covered. No trees grow here and the only plant life consists of red mounds of moss. In anticipation of the long winter ahead, men from the villages below climb up here to with their donkeys and harvest the moss with pick-axes. Back home the moss will be stored on the roofs for use as kindling for cooking and heating fires.
The men offer to sell passing tourists fossils Brahiopod shells they have found there in the sedimentary rock layers of the hills. These shells of marine animals are evidence that these mountains were at one time on the floor of the ocean.
Driving through this barren land we are surprised to come upon an Afghan cemetery with slab headstone and flags waving from long poles. The graves belong to ancestors of the Nomads who still wander through the mountains herding their sheep and goats.
The sapphire blue of the lakes stood in sharp contrast to the barren landscape. There are five lakes all formed by a natural dam of mineral deposits. The water is so clear, that we can see fish from the cliff 100 feet above. The dam of the main lake is 40 feet high and looks very much like the mineral deposits at Yellowstone National Park. The lake is 2 miles long and 500 yards wide.
The Afghans built a shrine here to Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Mohamed who legend says caused the lakes to be formed.
Below the dam are flour mills using water power to turn the mill stones. The miller and his helpers are covered in flour.
Despite warnings that the water was very cold, our group decides we must take a swim. I am however, the only one who actually got in the water and it was cold. The swim was very refreshing and I am glad I did it if only because so few people can say they swam in the Band-I-Amir Lakes in Afghanistan.
Long Description
Enclosed between the high mountains of the Hindu Kush in the central highlands of Afghanistan, the Bamiyan Valley opens out into a large basin bordered to the north by a long, high stretch of rocky cliffs. The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley comprise a serial property consisting of eight separate sites within the Valley and its tributaries. Carved into the Bamiyan Cliffs are the two niches of the giant Buddha statues (55m and 38m high) destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, and numerous caves forming a large ensemble of Buddhist monasteries, chapels and sanctuaries along the foothills of the valley dating from the 3rd to the 5th century C.E. In several of the caves and niches, often linked by galleries, there are remains of wall paintings and seated Buddha figures. In the valleys of the Bamiyan’s tributaries are further groups of caves including the Kakrak Valley Caves, some 3km south-east of the Bamiyan Cliffs where among the more than one hundred caves dating from the 6th to 13th centuries are fragments of a 10m tall standing Buddha figure and a sanctuary with painted decorations from the Sasanian period. Along the Fuladi valley around 2km southwest of the Bamiyan Cliffs are the caves of Qoul-i Akram and Lalai Ghami, also containing decorative features.
Punctuating the centre of the valley basin to the south of the great cliff are the remains of the fortress of Shahr-i Ghulghulah. Dating from the 6th to 10th centuries CE, this marks the original settlement of Bamiyan as stopping place on the branch of the Silk Route, which linked China and India via ancient Bactria. Further to the east along the Bamiyan Valley are the remains of fortification walls and settlements, dating from the 6th to 8th centuries at Qallai Kaphari A and B and further east still (around 15km east of the Bamiyan Cliffs) at Shahr-i Zuhak, where the earlier remains are overlaid by developments of the 10th to 13th centuries under the rule of the Islamic Ghaznavid and Ghorid dynasties.
The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterised ancient Bactria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandharan school of Buddhist art. The numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified structures from the Islamic period, testify to the interchange of Indian, Hellenistic, Roman, Sasanian and Islamic influences. The site is also testimony to recurring reactions to iconic art, the most recent being the internationally condemned deliberate destruction of the two standing Buddha statues in March 2001.
Criterion (i): The Buddha statues and the cave art in Bamiyan Valley are an outstanding representation of the Gandharan school in Buddhist art in the Central Asian region.
Criterion (ii):The artistic and architectural remains of Bamiyan Valley, an important Buddhist centre on the Silk Road, are an exceptional testimony to the interchange of Indian, Hellenistic, Roman and Sasanian influences as the basis for the development of a particular artistic expression in the Gandharan school. To this can be added the Islamic influence in a later period.
Criterion (iii):The Bamiyan Valley bears an exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition in the Central Asian region, which has disappeared.
Criterion (iv): The Bamiyan Valley is an outstanding example of a cultural landscape which illustrates a significant period in Buddhism.
Criterion (vi): The Bamiyan Valley is the most monumental expression of the western Buddhism. It was an important centre of pilgrimage over many centuries. Due to their symbolic values, the monuments have suffered at different times of their existence, including the deliberate destruction in 2001, which shook the whole world.
Integrity (2011)
The heritage resources in Bamiyan Valley have suffered from various disasters and some parts are in a fragile state. A major loss to the integrity of the site was the destruction of the large Buddha statues in 2001. However, a significant proportion of all the attributes that express the Outstanding Universal Value of the site, such as Buddhist and Islamic architectural forms and their setting in the Bamiyan landscape, remain intact at all 8 sites within the boundaries, including the vast Buddhist monastery in the Bamiyan Cliffs which contained the two colossal sculptures of the Buddha.
Authenticity (2003)
The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley continue to testify to the different cultural phases of its history. Seen as a cultural landscape, the Bamiyan Valley, with its artistic and architectural remains, the traditional land use and the simple mud brick constructions continues to express its Outstanding Universal Value in terms of form and materials, location and setting, but may be vulnerable in the face of development and requires careful conservation and management.
Protection and management requirements (2011)
The monuments and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley are public property, owned by the State of Afghanistan. However, large parts of the buffer zone are in private ownership. Many documents defining the ownership were destroyed during the decades of conflict and civil unrest, and are now being re-established. The State Law on the Protection of Historical and Cultural Properties (Ministry of Justice, May 21st 2004)is in force and provides the basis for financial and technical resources.
The management of the serial property is under the authority of the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) and its relevant departments (Institute of Archaeology and the Department for the Preservation of Historical Monuments), as well as the Governor of the Bamiyan Province. The Ministry of Information and Culture has a provincial local office representative in Bamiyan. There are 8 guards specifically protecting the site against vandalism and looting, with additional resources provided by the Ministry of Interior in the form of a dedicated police contingent for the protection of cultural property (Police unit 012).
At present, the management system is provisional with help from the international community for the appropriate administrative, scientific and technical resources. Since 2003, UNESCO has been leading a three-phase safe-guarding plan for the property. Its focus has been to consolidate the Buddha niches, to safeguard the artefacts that survived the destruction of the Buddha statues and to render the site safe, notably by pursuing the complex de-mining operations at the site. A Management Plan for the property is under preparation with the objective to prepare and implement a programme for the protection, conservation and presentation of the Bamiyan Valley, to undertake exploration and excavation of the archaeological remains, and to prepare and implement a programme for sustainable cultural tourism in the Valley. The Governor of the Province is responsible for the implementation of a regional development plan, which includes rehabilitation of housing, provision of health and educational services, and development of infrastructure and agriculture.
In March 2011, it was concluded by Afghan officials and international experts at a meeting of the 9th Bamiyan Expert Working Group hosted by UNESCO that the World Heritage site is potentially ready to be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger by 2013, pending continued progress in addressing security risks, the structural stability of the remains of the two giant Buddha sculptures and their niches, the conservation of the archaeological remains and mural paintings and implementation of the Management Plan.
The Bamiyan Valley lies some 264 km by road west of Kabul, enclosed within the high mountains of the Hindu Kush, in the central highlands of Afghanistan. The valley, at an altitude of 2,500 m, follows the Bamiyan River. It formed one of the branches of the Silk Road and its beautiful landscape is associated with legendary figures. It was these aspects that contributed to its development as a major religious and cultural centre. It was inhabited and partly urbanized from the 3rd century BC.
The nominated site consists of eight separate core zones, each with its buffer zone:
The Bamiyan Cliffs on the north side of the valley include the two colossal niches that contained the large standing Buddha figures.
The Kakrak Valley caves, some 3 km south-east of the Bamiyan cliffs, date from the 6th to 13th centuries. • The two main important groups of the Fuladi Valley caves are the Qoul-i Akram and Kalai Ghamai caves, which have important decorative features.
Shahr-i Zuhak and Qallai Kaphari consist of fortification walls, towers, and citadels of earthen structures dating from the 6th to 8th centuries.
Shahr-i Ghulghulah is a fortified citadel situated on a hill in the centre of the valley and dates from the 6th to 10th centuries AD.
The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bactria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified structures from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.