THE BUDDHAS

Today there are nothing left of these dynamited (because «non-Islamic») statues by the Taliban in 2001. But the site deserves to be visited both for its splendour and for its historic interest. One only has to imagine Bamiyan in the time of its Buddhist expansion - thousands of monks living in these cave niches, colourful sculptures - so that the site regains its magic.

History. Erigés between the fourth and the th century after J.-C., the Bamiyan Buddhas were two monumental statues of standing Buddhas, excavated in the wall of a cliff. They belonged, according to archaeologists, to Greco-Buddhist art. They were the highest Buddha statues ever made in the world. Dating back to 632, the Chinese poet Hiuan-Tsang writes the magnificence of Bamiyan. They inform us about the life of the Buddhist sanctuary in Bamiyan at that time and testify to the existence of these two Buddhas.

During the civil war (1992-1996), the Bamiyan site was used by the combatants, who dispersed mines there. But its final destruction is attributed to the Taliban. In February 2001 Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban regime, proclaimed that anything that was not Islamic should disappear. On 8 March 2001, despite threats from international bodies, he ordered his men to shoot the tank cannon and rocket on the statues of the Buddhas. The next day, on 9 March, a United Nations text called on the extremists to save Afghan art. But, on 10 March, the Taliban the destruction of the Buddhas to dynamite.

Today, there is no question of restoring life to these Buddhas, even though the Afghan government has expressed its desire to revive tourism. On the other hand, several work on the consolidation of cliffs and niches and the conservation of wall paintings were carried out. The entire site is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Some archaeologists, whose French mission (the Delegation of French Archaeology in Afghanistan), devote themselves to the search for the ancient city of Bamiyan. Others also look at the lying Buddha… legend says there would be a third Buddha.

Wearing the helmet (you will be ready during your visit). Take good shoes, a light backpack (it climbs!) and maybe a flashlight to visit the caves. It is possible to ask for a guide, but he is not sure he speaks French or English.

Visit. Just after the director's office, a large shed houses the remains of what is known as the great Buddha, which was 55 m, versus the small Buddha, 38 m. The main part of the Buddha's body was carved into the sandstone cliffs. However, in order to shape the members, a mixture of mud, straw and stucco was used. The drapes have not been carved on his body, they are types of cords covered with a mixture of straw and mud and supported by wooden plugs. Her dress was red.

According to the Chinese poet Hiuan-Tsang, the face of the great Buddha was covered with gold sheets. Its niche was entirely decorated with paintings. It was surrounded by ten caves, which were thought to turn back from the th century.

There are no more paintings inside the niche, but using a lamp you can see decorative elements of an interesting style, at the time very fashionable in Afghanistan: . carved in straw and mud. A staircase allows to climb the top of the great Buddha.

From here the view is very beautiful, but attention to vertigo… Stowed under the hangar, the few large fragments belonging to the statue represent proportionally only a tiny fraction of its real size.

The little Buddha is 500 m away. A century old, it was the first to be carved into these cliffs, probably in the th century or at the very beginning of the fourth century. The strokes of his face and the fabrics dressed in him were shaped. The little Buddha's dress was painted in blue and the niche in which he sat was decorated with frescoes, one of which represented the god of the sun in a blue sky, with horses of a white snow, an allegory of the relationship between the cosmos and Buddha. A maze of caves and caves surrounded by this central niche.

The Chinese poet Hiuan-Tsang described the city of Bamiyan in 632 as «more than a dozen monasteries served by several thousand monks». The small caves served as sanctuaries, the large assembly halls and the smallest of monastic cells. Many were decorated and all were connected by an open air staircase, still visible, which allowed access to the summit of the Buddhas. The interior of the niches was painted with frescoes that told stories of the Buddha's life. The drawings represented appeal to different forms of art: Greek, Indian and Sassanide (Persian), which gives the Bamiyan art unique originality. Unfortunately, very few paintings are still visible. From the top of these caves dug on the cliff, the view over Bamiyan is breathtaking and endless.