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  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_138.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_131.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_123.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_121.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_117.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_116.JPG
  • Visitors are walking inside the Taj Mahal complex, in Agra, where a stone seems to have been damaged or even replaced.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_027.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_137.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_136.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_133.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_130.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_129.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble. Here cement is being used instead of original material.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_127.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_126.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_125.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_118.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_135.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_134.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_132.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_128.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_124.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_122.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_119.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_115.JPG
  • A number of damaged parts, sloppy restoration work, stone decay and other oddities can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex, on both red sandstone and Markana marble.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_114.JPG
  • Hamidah, 6, (Centre) is playing with a shovel while other members of the family are washing clothes or arranging morning duties, in front the cave they live since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_63.JPG
  • Children are playing in front of an inhabited section of the cliff where once stood the two giant Buddhas of Bamyan, in 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_59.JPG
  • Visitors are enjoying a day at the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_105.JPG
  • A balloon vendor is pushing his cart along the streets of Agra near the Taj Mahal.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_073.JPG
  • A child is collecting useful items from scraps at the industrial area of Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_055.JPG
  • Women are adjusting their saris inside the main complex of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_020.JPG
  • Visitors are walking towards the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_007.JPG
  • A boy and his father are transporting gas cylinders with the use of donkeys in a small town on the road from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to the mountain village of Bamiyan, located on the Hindu Kush range. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi048.jpg
  • Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, (right) a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, is portrayed discussing with one of his assistants on the excavation field where he is searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha. The statue should be located between the original two standing Buddhas, Afghanistan, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi014.JPG
  • Maryam, 38, (Left) is sitting near the wood stove inside her family cave along two of her young daughters, Halemah, 9, (Centre) and Hamidah, 6, (Right) during the late afternoon hours when it is too cold to be spending time outside, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_53.JPG
  • A young Indian girl is crossing the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_150.JPG
  • Visitors are making their way up to the stairs leading to the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_102.JPG
  • Visitors are walking inside the Taj Mahal complex, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_024.JPG
  • Visitors are making their way up to the stairs leading to the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_008.JPG
  • A young boy is riding his donkey home after having collected water water from a small river in Bamyan, Afghanistan. In the town there is no electricity or running water. Power is only being provided by generators or solar panels. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi009.JPG
  • Maryam, 38, (Left) is warming her hands near the wood stove inside the cave where she live with her family since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_76.JPG
  • Hamidah, 6, is sitting alone next to a cave dug out of the friable the cliff where once stood the two giant Buddhas of Bamyan during the late afternoon hours when the Sun is setting on the Hindu Kush mountain range, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_73.JPG
  • Villages are photographed from the air while travelling over the Hidu Kush range between Kabul and 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_71.JPG
  • Milad, 2, is portrayed during a snowy winter morning in front of the cave where he lives with his family since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_65.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, is walking near the cave where she lives with her family since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_62.JPG
  • Halemah, 9, is running after her family's donkey on the way to collect water downhill. Halemah lives in the caves with her family since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_57.JPG
  • Fatemah, 12, (Right) and her mother, Maryam, 38, (Left) are sitting in front of the cave where they live since seven years, 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.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_58.JPG
  • The cliff where once stood the two giant Buddhas of Bamyan is photographed at night from a nearby hill by the homonymous town, in central Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_51.JPG
  • M. C. Mehta, the famous Indian environmental lawyer, is playing with his dogs in his ashram in Dehradun, a hill station in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_185.JPG
  • M. C. Mehta, the famous Indian environmental lawyer, is playing with his dogs in his ashram in Dehradun, a hill station in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_181.JPG
  • M. C. Mehta, the famous Indian environmental lawyer, is standing in his home in Dehradun, a hill station in the northern state of Uttarakhand where he has also opened an ashram and study centre.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_179.JPG
  • Relatives of a deceased person are watching the body being cremated at the traditional 'burning ghat' in Agra. Reduced into ashes it will then be partly thrown into the heavily polluted Yamuna River, flowing next to the Taj Mahal.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_162.JPG
  • A woman pastor is standing with her goats over the sands created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_141.JPG
  • A woman pastor is caring for her goats over the sands created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_140.JPG
  • Farmers are working in the fields created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_001.JPG
  • A cycle rickshaw driver is taking a break on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_176.JPG
  • Two man are cycling in the mids of a busy junction in Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_175.JPG
  • Visitors are looking at the Taj Mahal from the high walls of the Agra Fort, opposite the heavily polluted and dry Yamuna River, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_166.JPG
  • In this section of the Agra Fort deposed Mughal emperor Shah Jahan lived while under house arrest on orders of his son Aurangzeb.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_165.JPG
  • An Indian family is taking a break inside the Agra Fort, standing next to the heavily polluted and dry Yamuna River, in Agra. From this balcony inside the Fort, Mughal emperors used to address his men.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_163.JPG
  • Garbage has been thrown in the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_154.JPG
  • Cows and their shepherd are walking by the ruins of the controversial 'Taj Heritage Corridor', sitting between the Agra Fort and the Taj, and next to the heavily polluted and dry Yamuna River, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_151.JPG
  • Three Indian boys are crossing the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_148.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_147.JPG
  • Young men are working inside a foundry in Agra, where regulations have imposed the use to electric rather than coal power. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, even after this switch in power.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_144.JPG
  • Young men are working inside a foundry in Agra, where regulations have imposed the use to electric rather than coal power. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, even after this switch in power.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_143.JPG
  • A decorated half-dome awaits visitors entering the Great Gate towards the Taj Mahal complex, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_113.JPG
  • A an air pollution detector is standing inside the Taj Mahal main complex, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_111.JPG
  • Visitors are entering the Taj Mahal complex through the Great Gate, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_103.JPG
  • Children are playing on the fragile Markana marble of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_098.JPG
  • Visitors are collecting their shoes, prohibited without proper shoe-covers inside the Taj Mahal main complex, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_097.JPG
  • Visitors are enjoying a day at the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_093.JPG
  • Visitors are enjoying a day at the Taj Mahal building, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_088.JPG
  • R.K. Dixit, the senior government conservator at the Taj Mahal  complex in Agra is standing amid the crowd.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_082.JPG
  • Brij Khandelwal, a renown environmental journalist for the Times of India, is stading with R.K. Dixit, the senior government conservator at the Taj Mahal  complex in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_081.JPG
  • Brij Khandelwal, a renown environmental journalist for the Times of India, is inspecting the damage and writing on a door inside the Taj Mahal complex.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_077.JPG
  • Brij Khandelwal, a renown environmental journalist for the Times of India, is sitting inside the Taj Mahal complex.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_074.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_071.JPG
  • A vendor is selling Coca Cola on the streets of Agra. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_068.JPG
  • Young men are working inside a foundry in Agra, where regulations have imposed the use to electric rather than coal power. The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, even after this switch in power.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_066.JPG
  • Women are walking on a bank of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_061.JPG
  • The water of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River is bubbling with chemicals, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_059.JPG
  • Hindu religious icons and a cow photographed on a bank of the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_056.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_053.JPG
  • Untreated water from a municipal drain is entering the heavily polluted and semi-dry Yamuna River next to the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_052.JPG
  • The Taj Mahal has been struggling to keep in shape also because of the high levels of pollution in the city, mainly caused by congested roads and high levels of traffic, vehicles and an increasing population, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_046.JPG
  • A boy is carrying firewood over the sands created by the low summer flow of the heavily polluted Yamuna River, across a view of the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_033.JPG
  • Visitors overlooked by Indian police officers are making their way to the Taj Mahal building and tombs, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_009.JPG
  • Visitors are about to enter the Taj Mahal, in Agra.
    Taj_Mahal_Pollution_006.JPG
  • An Afghan man is carrying a papaya on the streets of Bamiyan's new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi049.jpg
  • Afghans are building a small local Mosque in a rocky village located near Bamyian's archaeological site. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi046.jpg
  • An Italian archaeologist is working on the maintenance and restoration of the Buddhas of Bamiyan's site in collaboration with a Japanese team of experts who has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi045.jpg
  • A Japanese woman belonging to the maintenance and restoration team in Bamiyan is working on emergency fixtures on the walls of an ancient Buddhist cave on the premises of the archaeological site. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi030.JPG
  • Old, unusable tanks left in Bamiyan after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan are being enveloped by growing weeds while sitting as relics in what has become a field for cultivating potatoes. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi026.JPG
  • A villager is harvesting wheat in one of the fields located next to the Buddhas of Bamiyan's archaeological site. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi027.JPG
  • An Afghan child is carrying flowers through a field in Bamiyan, a small Afghan town mostly populated by Hazaras. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi039.JPG
  • An Afghan elder is sleeping on the streets of Bamiyan's new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi037.JPG
  • ANP officers (Afghan National Police) are posing for a portrait in their booth along Bamiyanís new bazaar. The cliff where once stood the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') is photographed after sunset in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, an area mostly populated by Hazaras. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi035.JPG
  • A river running through the Hindu Kush, the mountain range crossing Afghanistan and separating Kabul from Bamiyan, is photographed from a UNAMA helicopter on its way to the capital. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century. Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi033.JPG
  • Members of the Japanese maintenance and restoration team in Bamiyan are collecting and cataloguing remains of ancient Buddhist and Islamic artefacts found on the premises of the archaeological site. The Japanese team of experts has been visiting the town for various years to find a long-term solution to its slow but unceasing disappearance. The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters. The statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. Amid widespread international condemnation, the smaller statues (55 and 39 meters respectively) were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban because they believed them to be un-Islamic idols. Once a stopping point along the Silk Road between China and the Middle East, researchers think Bamiyan 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. Archaeologists from various countries across the world have been engaged in preservation, general maintenance around the site and renovation. Professor Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France, and a teacher in Strasbourg University, has been searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue in various sites between the original standing ones, as documented in the old account of a renowned Chinese scholar, Xuanzang, visiting the area in the 7th century...Professor Tarzi worked on projects to restore the other Bamiyan Buddhas in the late 1970s and has spent most of his career researching the existence of the missing giant Buddha in the valley.
    Bamiyan_UNESCO_Alex_Masi015.JPG
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