Buddhas of Bamiyan Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Buddhas of Bamiyan
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Taller Buddha of Bamyan before 2001
Location	Bamyan, Afghanistan
Part of	Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamyan Valley
Criteria	Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi.
Inscription	2003 (27th Session)
Endangered	2003-present
Area	105 ha
Buffer zone	225.25 ha

The Buddhas of Bamiyan (Persian: بت‌های باميان – but hay-e bamiyan) were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff. They are in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan.

They were dynamited and destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban. Japan and Switzerland, among others, have said they would help rebuild the statues.

Taller Buddha in 1963 and in 2008 after destruction

Smaller Buddha in 1977

Images for kids

Panorama of the northern cliff of the Valley of Bamyan, with the Western and Eastern Buddhas at each end (before destruction), surrounded by a multitude of Buddhist caves.
Mapping of the 38 meter smaller Eastern Buddha, dated to AD 591 to 644, and its surrounding caves and chapels.
The paintings]] of Hepthalite royal sponsors on the ceiling also have disappeared.
Destruction of the site by the Taliban
Site of the larger statue after it was destroyed
Site of the smaller statue in 2005
Grotto painting in 2008
Caution Sign, 2017
Arkady Fiedler Museum, Bamyan Replica
Engraving of the Buddhas, as Alexander Burnes saw them during his visit to Bamyan in 1832
Local men standing near the larger "Salsal" Buddha statue, c. 1940
Photographed by Françoise Foliot
Possible reconstitution of the original appearance of the Western Buddha (Vairocana).
Mural of the Sun God riding his golden chariot and rows of royal donors along the sides, over the head of the smaller 38 meter Eastern Buddha
Probable King of Bamyan, in Sasanian style, in the niche of the 38 meters Buddha, next to the Sun God, Bamyan.
Probable Hepthalite rulers of Tokharistan, with single-lapel caftan and single-crescent crown, in the lateral row of dignitaries next to the Sun God.
Paintings of celestial beings in the niche of the 55 meter large Buddha.
Western Buddha, Niche, ceiling, east section E1 and E2.
Devotee in double-lapel caftan, left wall of the niche of the Western Buddha. He has also been described as a Hephthalite.
Buddhas under arcades, niche of the Western Buddha.
Reconstructed mural of Cave G, Bamyan
Devotee in double-lapel caftan, next to the Buddha. Cave G, Bamyan (detail)
Bamyan Buddhas, the central one wearing a crown and an Iranian cape.
Buddha wearing a crown and a chamail cape. Painting in niche "I" at Bamyan, 7th century AD
Taller Buddha, after destruction
Smaller Buddha, after destruction
View of the rock where monasteries and Buddhas are carved
The landscape of the archaeological Remains of the Bamyan Valley

Buddhas of Bamiyan facts for kids

Images for kids

See also