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Post by komsomol on Feb 4, 2009 13:50:06 GMT
I still remember the terrible destruction of the Buddhas in 2001. We can just keep our fingers crossed hope that this information is true: The Afghan government has commissioned Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to recreate the Bamyan Buddhas using fourteen laser systems to project the images of the Buddhas onto the cliff where they once stood. The laser systems will be solar and wind-powered. The project, which will cost an estimated $9 million, is currently pending UNESCO approval. If approved, the project is estimated to be completed by June 2012. |
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Post by spindrift on Feb 4, 2009 17:41:56 GMT
That $9m is better spent on the Afghan people.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2009 18:00:42 GMT
Culture = tourism = spent on the Afghan people. Do you want them buying more poppy seeds, spindrift?
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Post by spindrift on Feb 4, 2009 18:23:26 GMT
Of course I hadn't thought of the tourism point of view. Are not these Buddhas way off the beaten track and possibly difficult for tourists to visit them?
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Post by hwinpp on Feb 19, 2009 10:16:50 GMT
They are indeed. Back then, nobody but a few very intrepid travelers bothered to make the trip out to Bamyan and the Hazara areas.
But now, with the publicity they suddenly received, I'd applaud it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2009 1:25:47 GMT
It's a 12 hours ride by minibus (4WD) from Kabul. I went there in June 2003. It was relatively safe back then. You'd be totally insane to do tourism in Afghanistan nowadays.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2009 1:30:24 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 22, 2009 4:05:23 GMT
It's a 12 hours ride by minibus (4WD) from Kabul. I went there in June 2003. It was relatively safe back then. You'd be totally insane to do tourism in Afghanistan nowadays. I'm not planning on taking the trip, but what would happen to a tourist who went there now? For instance, would it even be possible to duplicate your 2003 trip? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2009 22:23:05 GMT
Being kidnapped or murdered, or being killed or injured in a suicide attack among other inconveniences.
I'm not sure I could do the things I did on my trip. For example I had to hire a 4WD with driver to go to the Minaret of Jam (see my photoalbum) in a remote place of central Afghanistan. Considering the present situation in matter of security, I'm not sure I could find a driver willing to make the trip now.
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Post by hwinpp on Feb 23, 2009 5:52:34 GMT
12 hours?
It'd have been a couple of days on horseback before the Soviets invaded.
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