Bamiyan Statues of Afganistan

Bamiyan Statues of Afghanistan.

Bamiyan Statue before and after Bamiyan ,
Afghanistan.

Complex painting inside the Bamiyan statue

        According to The Huffington Post, the Hindu Bamiyan Statues in Afghanistan, on the popularly known Silk Road, have been destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The leader of the Taliban at the time Mullah Mohammed Omar had ordered the Bamiyan statues to be destroyed with dynamite. This horrific action alarmed the International Community and started a campaign to rebuild these Hindu statues. The Bamiyan Statues in central Afghanistan where a historic monument in the Hindu religion. These Bamiyan Statues date approximately between 544 to 644 B.C.E. The larger statue is 180 feet or 55 meters tall and the smaller statue is 124 feet or 38 meters tall. Both of these beautiful statues had been in this area over 1,500 years.

Bamiyan statue in winter. Bamiyan Afghanistan.

 

        Within and around the Bamiyan Statues were some of the oldest known to date oil paintings. These paintings were very distinct with the use of metallics, Goethite, hydrocerussites, resins and varnish within the oil or layers within these historic paintings. Paintings from the Bamiyan land mark offer some of the most complex paintings from ancient times, and now they have been damaged or destroyed completely. Researchers now want to attempt to rebuild this site that was viciously destroyed. German researchers are deciding which building strategy to go with, sending some 1,400 original pieces to Germany to rebuild the tallest Bamiyan Statue, or build a facility on site for reconstruction?

        Some Hindus and Afghans are against the restoration of the Bamiyan site, calling the destruction of the statues an historical event as well. This Hindu site offers many historical values and differences between Hindu, Muslims and of course Taliban and Al-Qaeda, thus this site has become a very delicate debate. What are your feelings about this Historical site? And do you think the Bamiyan Statue should be rebuilt?

                                                           

Imformation courtesy:

Huffington Post.

AOL News.

ESRF News.

 

Photography courtesy of:

silkroadbamiyan.com.

ideastream.org.

yumevision.photoshelter.com