Synopsis:
In 2001 the Taliban swept through Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley. Their target was Bamiyan's colossal stone Buddha statues which had stood for over 1500 years. The world watched powerless as one of its true wonders was lost.
It took the Taliban four full days to destroy the statues using a mixture of cannons and explosives. The savage destruction of Afghanistan's giant Bamiyan Buddha's shocked the world, but can this unique site be restored to its former glory?
The documentary team travelled to Bamiyan to explore the restoration work being done on this World Heritage Site, and found astonishing plans are afoot to rebuild the statues.
Rebuilding Bamiyan talks to one man who was forced at gun point to participate in the destruction, to some of those now participating in the painstakingly slow and dangerous attempt to restore the site and asks just why the Buddha's are so important to Bamiyan.
In the 1960s and 70s – before Afghanistan's descended into conflict - the Bamiyan Valley was a major tourist destination with up to 100,000 tourists visiting each year. But in the chaos that is Afghanistan today Rebuilding Bamiyan asks if tourists will ever return to Bamiyan?
Synopsis:
In 2001 the Taliban swept through Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley. Their target was Bamiyan's colossal stone Buddha statues which had stood for over 1500 years. The world watched powerless as one of its true wonders was lost.
It took the Taliban four full days to destroy the statues using a mixture of cannons and explosives. The savage destruction of Afghanistan's giant Bamiyan Buddha's shocked the world, but can this unique site be restored to its former glory?
The documentary team travelled to Bamiyan to explore the restoration work being done on this World Heritage Site, and found astonishing plans are afoot to rebuild the statues.
Rebuilding Bamiyan talks to one man who was forced at gun point to participate in the destruction, to some of those now participating in the painstakingly slow and dangerous attempt to restore the site and asks just why the Buddha's are so important to Bamiyan.
In the 1960s and 70s – before Afghanistan's descended into conflict - the Bamiyan Valley was a major tourist destination with up to 100,000 tourists visiting each year. But in the chaos that is Afghanistan today Rebuilding Bamiyan asks if tourists will ever return to Bamiyan?