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Bamiyan - UNESCO

Mina, 35, (Right) is standing in front of her makeshift house built around one of the caves with her eldest son, 11,(Left) during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras.

A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.

After the Taliban were driven from the region by American troops, many Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) returned to their homes to find them destroyed.

Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries.

It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003.

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Alex Masi
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Bamiyan UNESCO World Heritage
Mina, 35, (Right) is standing in front of her makeshift house built around one of the caves with her eldest son, 11,(Left) during a cold winter morning in Bamyan, central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. <br /> <br /> A historically persecuted minority (15%) due to more lenient Islamic faith and characteristic 'Eastern' lineaments, Hazaras constitute the 70% of Bamyan's population.<br /> <br /> After the Taliban were driven from the region by American troops, many Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) returned to their homes to find them destroyed. <br /> <br /> Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamyan was the site of monasteries housing as many as 5,000 monks during its peak as a Buddhist centre in the 6th and 7th centuries. <br /> <br /> It is now a UNESCO Heritage Site since 2003.
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