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  • SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) Abdullah Sheikh, 42, the director of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while overlooking documents in his office in the AVCC headquarters in central Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A kidnap suspect (left) is being detained for questioning by a member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A kidnap suspect (right) is being detained for questioning by a member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Naveed Ahmed, 27, (left) a young and ambitious member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while taking a short break after an unsuccessful rescue operation in the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub, in Sindh Province. During the raid the police detained kidnap suspects and recovered the phone and SIM card used by the criminals to contact the hostage's family. The man however was not found on this occasion. The suspects have been brought to the AVCC headquarters in Karachi to be questioned. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An advertisement portraying Naseem Hamid, 100-metres gold medal at the recent South Asian Federation Games in Bangladesh, is presented on a billboard standing along a busy road in Karachi, Paksitan. Naseem has become Pakistan's first woman to sprint to gold in the championship's 26-year history.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Truck drivers belonging to a Karachi-based company are sitting in their office. The company has been contracted by NATO to transport containers arriving to Karachi by ship to Afghanistan and other bases of NATO bases in the region. Many drivers have been killed on Afghan territory by insurgent's bandit attacks aimed at disrupting NATO's supplies. Some travel as far as Bagram Airfield, near Kabul, the Afghan capital.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are taking part to a raid simulation exercise. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are exercising at dawn. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits are taking part in a raid simulation exercise at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, is portrayed while sitting inside their headquarters in center of the city.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits are exercising at a long-range shooting ground at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A night view of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub and its largest city, counting for over 18 million inhabitants.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Moinuddin Syed, 42, the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) second in command, is on his mobile phone giving instructions to his men during a night raid on the outskirts of the city of Karachi on their search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits of the the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, are being briefed on raids and security procedures. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A local woman is preparing an omelette for travellers passing by her hut-turned-restaurant along the Leh-Manali Highway...The Leh-Manali Highway is the main road connection between the remote mountainous region of Ladhak, with capital in Leh (3300m), and Manali, HP, a famous hill station 600 km north of New Delhi. Open only four months a year, it is the second-highest motorable road in the world crossing passes up to 5300 meters. It was constructed by the Indian Army in order to develop the surrounding areas as well as monitoring the nearby borders with Kashmir and China. Due to its beauty and increased accessibility, the road to Leh and Ladhak has recently become a must-see destination for local and international tourists leaving the scorching Indian plains..
    Leh-Manali-Highway_India_18.jpg
  • A day-tourist riding a bike is having a hard time along a wet and particularly muddy section of the Leh-Manali Highway leading up to Rotanlg La, (3,978 m) the nearest pass to the hill station of Manali, in Himachal Pradesh, 600 km north of New Delhi...The Leh-Manali Highway is the main road connection between the remote mountainous region of Ladhak, with capital in Leh (3300m), and Manali, HP, a famous hill station 600 km north of New Delhi. Open only four months a year, it is the second-highest motorable road in the world crossing passes up to 5300 meters. It was constructed by the Indian Army in order to develop the surrounding areas as well as monitoring the nearby borders with Kashmir and China. Due to its beauty and increased accessibility, the road to Leh and Ladhak has recently become a must-see destination for local and international tourists leaving the scorching Indian plains..
    Leh-Manali-Highway_India_08.jpg
  • Young Buddhist monks are awaiting to be gin a Puja in the early morning inside 'Thikse Gompa', a spectacular monastery near Leh, the capital of Ladhak, a small northern Himalayan Indian state with a dominant Buddhist population...The Leh-Manali Highway is the main road connection between the remote mountainous region of Ladhak, with capital in Leh (3300m), and Manali, HP, a famous hill station 600 km north of New Delhi. Open only four months a year, it is the second-highest motorable road in the world crossing passes up to 5300 meters. It was constructed by the Indian Army in order to develop the surrounding areas as well as monitoring the nearby borders with Kashmir and China. Due to its beauty and increased accessibility, the road to Leh and Ladhak has recently become a must-see destination for local and international tourists leaving the scorching Indian plains..
    Leh-Manali-Highway_India_06.jpg
  • The beginning of the Leh-Manali Highway in Leh. The road has increasingly favoured tourism and development in this remote mountain town.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_30.jpg
  • A mountain view along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_26.jpg
  • Bikers are taking a break near a small lake while travelling along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_20.jpg
  • Two adventurous bikers are about to enter a hail storm along the More Plains, a part of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_19.jpg
  • Portrait of an labourer from Jharkhand State, east India, on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_10.jpg
  • A labourer taking a break on a bed of stones against a view of the mountain landscape along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_09.jpg
  • A truck is passing through a narrow and steep section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_08.jpg
  • Labourers are making asphalt to repair a section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_07.jpg
  • A Muslim boy is waiting for breakfast at a large Madrassa (Islamic school) in North-West Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A night view of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub and its largest city, counting for over 18 million inhabitants.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An armed member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, is riding in a police van in the city on their way to a night raid aimed at freeing a hostage and arresting the offenders.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An armed member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, is sitting in a police van on the way to a night raid on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan's main economic hub.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Karachi's habour, Asia's second largest, is NATO's main supply and logistical hub in South Asia. Here hundreds of ship containers are being reloaded onto trucks daily and then sent to Afghanistan and other bases of NATO bases in the region.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Armed members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, are reciting prayers in their vehicle on the way to a raid on the outskirts of the city while searching for a kidnap suspect.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits are running during training exercise at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A labourer is having a bath near a little mountain spring along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_24.jpg
  • Labourers are having breakfast near their tents along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_11.jpg
  • A labourer is portrayed inside his tent on the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_06.jpg
  • A member of the AVCC (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) is portrayed while at their headquarters in Karachi, Pakistan. The AVCC is a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city and its vicinity.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnapping cases in the city of Karachi, are gathering on the outskirts of a suspected criminal hiding position in order to discuss the approach on the ground and to retain a strategic advantage on all possible escape routes.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Armed members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, are sitting in their vehicle on the way to a raid on the outskirts of the city while searching for a kidnap suspect.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An instructor of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi, is instructing recruits. On his t-shirt are printed the letters ATF, meaning Anti-Terrorism force, The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Two snipers in mimetic disguise are practising at a long-range shooting ground at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Recruits are exercising at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Elite Police Training Center, a commando and anti-terrorism academy on the outskirts of Karachi. The training center was founded by retired colonel Abdul Wahid Khan, a brave officer who served as a gunship helicopter pilot in the Pakistani Air Force and around the globe with the United Nations, but who's first task as a young army officer in 1979 was to train Afghan Mujahedeen to fight the Soviet Army, the very Mujahedeen that are today's Taleban.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An armed member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, is raiding a hut on the outskirts of the city on his search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • Two armed members of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, are raiding a cluster of houses on the outskirts of the city on their search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • An armed member of the AVCC, (Anti-Violence Crime Cell) a special police unit mostly involved in anti-terrorism operations and kidnap cases in the city of Karachi, is preparing to raid a cluster of houses on the outskirts of the city on their search for a kidnap suspect during a fake ransom meet up with the criminals.
    Protecting_Karachi_Alex_Masi_Pakista...JPG
  • A local family is washing clothes near Leh, the capital of Ladhakh, along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_23.jpg
  • Tilak Raj, 23, a Punjabi driver living inside his truck for 14 days before being rescued by the truck owner. His vehicle broke down along the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_15.jpg
  • Labourers are making asphalt to repair a section of the Leh-Manali Highway.
    Leh_Manali_Highway_India_17.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
  • 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
  • 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 archaeologist is working on the maintenance and restoration of the Buddhas of Bamiyanís archaeological 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_Masi006.JPG
  • Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, (left) a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, is portrayed on his excavation field while searching for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue between the original standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, 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_Masi003.JPG
  • Members of the Japanese team with the task to maintain and restore Bamiyan's archaeological site are working on emergency fixtures where the Western Buddha (55m - 'Male') once stood. 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. nce 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_Masi031.JPG
  • Young boys are going back home after a visit to the bazaar passing by some of the caves in Bamyian that are still inhabited by a mixture of IDP (Internally-Displaced Persons) returnees and others with no chances for a better home. 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_Masi019.JPG
  • Afghan labourers are employed by Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, while on his hunt for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue between the original standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, 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_Masi032.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
  • 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_Masi013.JPG
  • Afghan labourers are employed by Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, a notable An Afghan-born archaeologist from France and teacher in Strasbourg University, while on his hunt for a legendary 300m Sleeping Buddha statue between the original standing Buddhas of Bamiyan, 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_Masi011.JPG
  • An Afghan woman is walking through a field of blossoming flowers in Bamiyan, a small Afghan town 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 modeled 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_Masi002.JPG
  • Maryam, 39, is holding her newborn granddaughter in front of the cave where her family dwell located inside the archaeological site of Bamiyan, central 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_Masi025.JPG
  • Women are walking home after washing clothes next to 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_Masi024.JPG
  • Forests and natural beauty are very characteristic features of Bamyian, a small Afghan town in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountain range 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_Masi023.JPG
  • Villagers are collecting water and washing clothes next to 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_Masi007.JPG
  • Two tourists are looking at rocks collected from the remains of the original Western Buddha (55m - ëMaleí) in Bamiyan. 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_Masi012.JPG
  • Professor Zemaryali Tarzi, (left) 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_Masi022.JPG
  • Afghan workers are busy with the maintenance and renovation of the Buddhas of Bamyanís archaeological site. The Buddhas of Bamyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan 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 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. 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_Masi005.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
  • 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
  • Guards are lining up for lunch at the deli bar inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_027.JPG
  • Yasamin Yarmal, 42, (right) a famous Afghan actress taking part to 'Love and Old Age', a successful soap opera broadcasted by Ariana Television Network (ATN), is discussing her acting with Ghafar Zalam, 48, (right - hands and script visible) the director, inside a home on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. Yasamin Yarmal has performed in over 100 movies and some refer to her as the 'mother' of Afghan cinema. She was also selected as UNAMA (United Nation Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) Peace Ambassador in 2009 for her role in leading a change towards women within the conservative and patriarchal Afghan society.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Elaha Soroor, 20, (centre) a finalist for 'Afghan Star', a Tolo TV program similar to American Idol, is portrayed in her home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Elaha Soroor was a finalist of Afghan Star in the 2008-2009 edition but failed to win on the final night. Some believe she lost because of her gender, others believe because she is ethnically Hazara, a minority group constituting about 15% of Afghanistan's population with features similar to Mongolians, flat noses, broad faces and almond-shaped eyes. Hazaras are mostly Shia Muslims, as opposed to other Afghans who are for the most part Sunnis.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Two women (left) dressed in traditional burka dresses are walking past a cart carrying brand new television sets along a more modern Afghan woman and her young daughter, (right) on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Veena Bandyopadhyay, a senior member of the Unicef team in Madhya Pradesh, India, is talking to Pooja, 14, a student from the village of Pathpuri and to other villagers during a visit to their child reporter project in Hoshangabad, the village district. The project was launched in collaboration with Dalit Sangh, an NGO which has been working for the uplift of scheduled castes for the past 22 years.
    Child_Reporter_MP_India_Alex_Masi_26.jpg
  • A family home in the slum surrounding Firozabad, renowned as the 'glass city', in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, has been transformed into a small-scale workshop where young girls are decorating the bracelets produced in factories nearby. Due to extreme poverty, over 20.000 young children are employed to complete the bracelets produced in the industrial units. This area is considered to be one of the highest concentrations of child labour on the planet. Forced to work to support their disadvantaged families, children as young as five are paid between 30-40 Indian Rupees (approx. 0.50 EUR) for eight or more hours of work daily. Most of these children are not able to receive an education and are easily prey of the labour-poverty cycle which has already enslaved their families to a life of exploitation. Children have to sit in crouched positions, use solvents, glues, kerosene and various other dangerous materials while breathing toxic fumes and spending most time of the day in dark, harmful environments. As for India's Child Labour Act of 1986, children under 14 are banned from working in industries deemed 'hazardous' but the rules are widely flouted, and prosecutions, when they happen at all, get bogged down in courts for lengthy periods. A ban on child labour without creating alternative opportunities for the local population is the central problem to the Indian Government's approach to the social issue affecting over 50 million children nationwide.
    Hidden_Youth_06.jpg
  • A young girl from the village of Beghrajpur, Muzaffarnagar District, Uttar Pradesh, India, is collecting grass for her family's buffaloes from the banks of a large drain originating from the Beghrajpur Industrial Complex, mainly composed of chemical factories, a few hundred meters upstream, on Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008. The white drain, completely covered in foam, will reach the Kali river (East) in Usampur Bhopara village. At the end of its journey, the watercourse will eventually join the largest Ganges river injecting a deadly dose of pollutants into its Holy waters.
    Slow_Poison_46.JPG
  • Women are collecting water contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides from a hand-pump on the streets of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_19.JPG
  • Students from the Laksha Grawha Ashram are bathing in a pool using groundwater that will later be devoted to irrigation in the village of Barnawa, pop.6000, Baghpat District, Uttar Pradesh, India, located along the banks of the severely polluted Hindon river, on Thursday, Apr. 17, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_12.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
  • Azita Arif Nazimi, 25, (right) is presenting 'Family Live Show', a television program broadcasted live by Channel 1, an Afghan national television, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her guest and other members of the show are sitting near Azita. .
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Alka Sadat, 24, (centre), an award-winning documentary and fiction filmmaker, is smiling while sitting at her desk in Kabul, Afghanistan.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Azita Arif Nazimi, 25, (left) is presenting 'Family Live Show', a television program broadcasted live by Channel 1, an Afghan national television, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
    Performing_For_Freedom_Kabul_Afghani...JPG
  • Pooja, 14, a student from the village of Pathpuri, Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India, taking part to the children's journal, a project launched by Dalit Sangh, an NGO which has been working for the uplift of scheduled castes for the past 22 years, is using a digital camera provided by the project to child reporters. Dalit Sangh is working in collaboration with Unicef India to promote education and awareness within backward communities.
    Child_Reporter_MP_India_Alex_Masi_16.jpg
  • Residents of Jaibheem Nagar, pop. 10000, a large slum located near the banks of the Kali river (East), Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India, are showing the contaminated yellow-coloured water from one of the hand-pumps many residents use as the only source for drinking and washing, on Sunday, Mar. 16, 2008.
    Slow_Poison_25.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
  • 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
  • Inmates are taking part to a stretching session with their female trainer during the time they regularly spend carrying out physical exercise and learning about the human body inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_049.JPG
  • Inmates are practicing instruments in the professional recording studio where they regularly play as a band, built inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_047.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 sniffer dog is waiting for orders to begin walking through bags owned by new arrivals at the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_042.JPG
  • A Christian inmate is praying while sitting inside an area of the prison built purposely for prisoners wanting to express their faith inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_041.JPG
  • Inmates are smoking a cigarette in one of the open areas of the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_035.JPG
  • The medical personnel is preparing medicinal doses used by a number of inmates under treatment inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_033.JPG
  • Guards are eating and chatting in the lunch room of the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_028.JPG
  • Inmates (all but the woman teacher in the middle) are taking part to a cooking lesson inside the luxurious Halden Fengsel, (prison) near Oslo, Norway.
    Halden_Luxury_Prison_Norway_026.JPG
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Alex Masi Documentary Photography

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