Bamyan Province
Called Bamiyan, also Bamian or Bamyan ( Pashto / Dari بامیان ), is a province of Afghanistan with some 410,000 inhabitants. It lies in the center of the country in the Hazarajat region (also: Hazaristan ). Their eponymous capital is the largest city in the Hazarajat and the cultural center of the Hazara ethnic group in the region.
Internationally known Bamiyan was mainly due to the Buddha statues that were destroyed in 2001 under the Taliban regime.
History
In antiquity, the central Afghanistan was a strategic location because it was the Silk Road, and thus on the route of traders between the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire and Persia in the west, China and India in the east. Bamiyan was one break point for many travelers. The Greek, Persian and Buddhist arts were brought together here and formed a unique style of Greco - Buddhist art.
Bamiyan was the site of several Buddhist monasteries. Many Buddha statues were carved in the rock ( see the Buddha statues of Bamiyan ). This rock statues were located near the city of Bamiyan in the valley of the river of the same name. The two largest statues speak without their niches in which they stood, 53 and 35 meters in height. Today, their niches are just left. The niche of the large sculpture, actually Dipamkara, by the people Khonuk But; Persian خنک بت ( or cold white statue ) or Solsol or Salsal; صلصل ( light shines through the universe ) called, is 58 m high. The niche of the smaller, actually Siddhartha Gautama, the people Sorkh But, سرخ بت (red or warm statue ) or شاه مامه; Called Shahmama ( Queen Mother ), is 38 m high. Prior to the complete destruction of the statues in March 2001 by the Taliban, there were in the 53 -meter high statue of a rock staircase, a kind of spiral staircase, over which one go to her head, stand upright and could look down on the area. In addition, despite the destruction still exists a large part of the vast system of rock steps, niches, balconies, meeting rooms, altar rooms with dome ceiling and caves. In the caves, with water and sewer system - water storage from the snow melting on the 2500 m high altitude plateaus of the Hindu Kush - lived approximately 3000 or 5000 Buddhist monks. Today in the rock crevices and caves to live as a variety of Hazara.
The time of origin of the statues has been dated to the 6th century AD. They were special feature of the landscape of the Bamiyan Valley, which is run with its archaeological remains by UNESCO on their World Heritage List. In March 2001, the Taliban regime caused the destruction of the statues that were considered idols. The destruction was carried out with ground -to-air artillery and explosives.
The province was re-established in 1964. Previously, the area belonged to the provinces of Kabul and Parwan.
Presence
Today ( 2009) applies Bamiyan as relatively peaceful and safe. As in the other provinces in the Hazarajat or Hazaristan the cultivation of poppies for opium production is not widespread. The governor of Bamiyan, Habiba Sarabi is nationwide the only woman in this office. An attempt is made to develop the cultural and natural riches of the province again for tourism. The Band-e -Amir lakes are recognized as the only national park in Afghanistan since 2009.