Bamyan entices visitors beyond the Buddhas

Bamyan, Afghanistan - After three decades of conflict and persecution capped by one of history's most heinous acts of vandalism, Bamyan in central Afghanistan, is sprucing itself up for the more adventurous tourist. Becoming the country's first declared mine-free province as hoped in 2009 will hardly attract sightseers in itself. But improved accommodation and transport from Kabul, renewal of the alcoves of the giant sixth century Buddha statues that the Taliban dynamited in 2001, and development of more sites can boost its pulling power. 'There is good potential, Bamyan already has lots of attraction, even without marketing,' said Amir Foladi, head of the Bamyan Ecotourism Programme being implemented by the Kabul-based Aga Khan Development Network and the provincial administration. Building on the good security Bamyan offers compared with the rest of the country, the drive aims to draw visitors beyond the vacant yet impressive sandstone alcoves and the famous Bande Amir lakes, which form the country's first national park. 'They come to Bamyan to see the (former site of the) Buddhas and visit Bande Amir and then they go - they don't realize there are other sites that are just as important,' the official said, standing at the mysterious hilltop ruins of the Forty Towers Fort in Kiligan in western Bamyan. As with many relics in this isolated part of the country, little is known about the crumbling mud and stone edifices. Experts can say only that they were built by the Kushan civilization at least 900 years ago, when Bamyan lay on the Silk Road trade route to the West. Also ripe for promotion is the scenic Aajar Valley, the now protected hunting domain of the late Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Visiting also involves a long road trip, so there are plans to create a network of family-run guesthouses to reduce the travel burden. Roads are under construction with international assistance. But for now travellers bounce by in SUVs past timeless scenes of turbaned Hazara men driving loaded donkeys, and the occasional tank wrecks left from the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Any discomfort is offset by the stunningly gaunt beauty of Bamyan's red-tinted mountains, gorges, plains and villages, all presented for enjoyment within a unique pocket of security. Physically distinctive from the ethnic Pashtuns who form the core of the Taliban, the Hazaras - descendants of Mongol emperor Genghis Khan - are Shiite rather than Sunni Moslem. Their brutal persecution by the Taliban during the radical militia's rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 means that today they guard their territory with great efficiency, aided by Bamyan's small contingent of troops from New Zealand. To help open the door to the outside world, a major asphalt road, running here 240 kilometres north-west from Kabul, is expected to be built in the next three years. And a small international airport will eventually replace the landing strip that now serves the province. Bamyan received more than 3,000 foreign visitors and 30,000 Afghan visitors in 2005 before the security situation took a turn for the worse in Afghanistan overall, Foladi said. But the provincial government seeks to exceed that number next year, accommodating guests in Bamyan town's five modest hotels, including one Japanese-run three-star hotel. Independent tour operators say there is a steady demand to come here. 'Bamyan is one of the most unique and famous tourist destinations in Afghanistan, everyone who booked a tour with us wanted it to be included,' said Muqim Jamshady, director of Afghan Logistics, the country's first commercial tourism company. 'We had a lot of clients and we didn't have any security problems in Bamyan,' he added, while advising strongly against any backpacking ventures in the current climate. Interest will likely grow in 2009 with the planned restoration and display of a 19-metre Sleeping Buddha that lies near the main alcoves cut into the cliff face above the town. Unearthed this year by French and Afghan archeologists, the find reinforces hopes of locating a horizontal effigy measure more than 300 metres that was documented by Chinese monks in the eight century. Meanwhile, there have been proposals to use some of the dynamited rubble remains to recreate the two large Buddhas that were modelled in mud mixed with straw and coated with stucco and stood 53 and 38 metres tall. Alternatively, Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata is negotiating with the Afghan government to project a series of giant Buddha images on the cliff with multicoloured, solar and wind-powered lasers in a weekly show. 'We will be able to revive the great creative spirit of mankind which produced the Great Buddha of Bamyan centuries ago,' says the artist of his project, which if finalised could be launched in 2012. For now, the alcoves are still sadly bare but their lure is strong. The New Zealand troops are also used to hosting a steady procession of curious visitors to the site, from NATO top brass to US First Lady Laura Bush in June. Bamyan is 'one of those parts of Afghanistan that I think everyone has watched and looked at over the years since we first heard about the Buddhas,' Bush said.