Bamiyan Buddha destroyed by Taliban makes a 3D comeback

Monitoring Desk

The ancient sandstone carvings in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan valley were once the world’s tallest Buddhas – but they were lost forever when the Taliban blew them up 20 years ago.

One made a poignant return on Tuesday night in the form of a 3D projection, glowing in the rocky alcove where it used to stand.

It capped a day of ceremony marking the destruction of the centuries-old figures in March 2001.

The statues had been carved from the cliff in the early 6th and 7th Centuries AD, when Buddhism was the region’s dominant religion.

“We do not want people to forget what a horrific crime was committed here,” said Zahra Hussaini, co-organiser of the “A night with Buddha” event.

Residents and civil society activists hold lamps as they walk to the site where the Salsal Buddha statue once stood — Locals and civil society activists formed a lantern-lit procession to the place where the Buddhas once stood

People holding lanterns stand beside the cliff — Hundreds gathered at the cliff, by a network of ancient caves

A policeman holding a gun silhouetted against a darkening sky — An Afghan policeman stands guard ahead of the event

An Afghan woman holding a lantern poses in the dusk against a carved mountainside — A woman poses for a picture near the carved mountainside

A dancer in a white dress performs near the site where the Salsal Buddha statue once stood — A dancer performs during the commemoration ceremony

People watch a 3D projection of the 56 metre-high Salsal Buddha at the site where the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues stood before being destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. — The 3D projection marks 20 years since the statues were blown up by the Taliban in March 2001 – the Salsal Buddha was 56m (155ft) high

A Hazara man pushes a wheelbarrow along a road near the site of the Buddhas of Bamiyan statues — On the road that led to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the space that once housed a statue stands empty

Courtesy: BBC

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