GRECO-BUDDHIST SITE OF HADDA

Unfortunately, the remains of Buddhist civilization are no longer visible in Hadda. But before entering Jalalabad, when you arrive in Kabul, you can see Buddhist caves, the bridge of the river Sorkhrod (the Red River). Some stupas are visible around Jalalabad, especially on the Sorkhrod River. The great trees of the bazaar are pipals (Ficus religiosa), the Buddha tree, which would itself come to the region on the occasion of one of its incarnations. Hadda is a Greco-Buddhist archaeological site where many stupas have been discovered. Around 399 BC, the Buddhist site of Hadda, where a skull of Buddha's skull is conserved, is particularly revered. It has its apogee around 400 after J.-C. In the fifth century, the whole region is Buddhist and Hadda is a major centre. The site is in principle abandoned around 530, when Buddhism begins moving to the west, particularly in Bamiyan.

Visit. The stupa, high on a relic of Buddha, is surrounded by monuments and many other small stupas. The site covers 15 km ², in a plain surrounded by hills. A fresco illustrates the richness of the kouchan kingdom. The small cellars of the monks were used during the war by the people. In 1923, a French architect visited the Hadda site and discovered about stupas. A few years later, some great statues are being uncovered as well as several thousand Greek-Buddhist sculptures dating from the th century after the th century, which is also where the oldest Buddhist manuscripts of the th century will be discovered. Excavations resumed in 1965-1966. The treasures discovered are at the time shared between the Guimet Museum in France and the museum of Kabul (at the Guimet museum, a salle Hadda was inaugurated in 1929). But after 1979, the war bouleverser the region. Bombed by Soviet aviation, the site is also looted, like most archaeological sites in the country.

The caves will be used as the cache cache and the site will host Al Qaeda training camps. Statues are resold in Pakistan. The whole site is destroyed. In 2000, nothing remains and the Taliban complete the Destruction.