The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two monumental statues carved into a sandstone cliff in the Bamiyan Valley of central Afghanistan, about 81 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Kabul. They date to roughly the sixth century, in the period of Hephthalite rule. The eastern Buddha stood 125 feet (38 meters) tall and the western Buddha 180 feet (55 meters).
The figures blend Greco-Buddhist art from Gandhara with later influences from Gupta India, the Sasanian Empire and Tokharistan. They were cut from the cliff as reliefs. Details were modeled in mud mixed with straw over wooden frames, and coated with painted stucco. The larger figure was painted carmine red.
On March 2, 2001, the Taliban began to destroy both statues, and the demolition lasted several weeks. UNESCO inscribed the valley as a World Heritage Site in 2003. Whether to rebuild the Buddhas remains debated, and the empty niches stay.
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