- it becomes your child, your loved one, connection,an osmosis, this feeling was destroyed by the stupidity of man
- Dr. Tarsey knew there may be a 3rd giant statue, the Sleeping Buddha, one of the largest statues ever created
- since the destruction of the Buddha by the Taliban, the people have been trying to avenge the Taliban with the Sleeping Buddha
- the last recorded sighting was 1,000 years ago
- gold burial objects, 1st century AD, vanished-melted down by warlords or given as tribute to terrorist leader Osama bin Laden
- we were used to finding ceramics, bits and pieces of pottery
- found 5 women. each had a king's ransom of ornaments, baubles. Died around the time of Christ. Royalty of a mysterious and warlike people. Preyed on caravans.
- brought gold to National Museum in Kabul
- Afghanistan dissolved into chaos
- 10 years of Soviets with Afghan guerillas, drove the Soviets out, Afghan warlords fought for the spoils, destroyed half of Kabul
- most of National Museum's antiquities stolen or destroyed
- 1996 Taliban pushed back warlords, lynching
- the Taliban beat chaos and crime with strict new laws, law of the Koran
- if someone steals something, we cut off hand. Murder, we kill them
- the harsh treatment. The Koran prohibits portraying living things
- Drawing or sculpting living things is an affront to the Almighty
- Destroying Buddhas was seen as the fulfillment of Koran law
- slashed forbidden paintings, 50 years of history on film went up in smoke
- Hazara ethnic minority, ethnic cleansing
- the Taliban killed 2,000-3,000
- Hazaras were forced to install explosives
- Sleeping Buddha, would rival any wonder of the ancient world
- Bamiyan, vision of splender
- Silk Road was at its zenith
- 150 feet tall Buddha, sparkle on every side, flames on shoulders
- end of year 2, outlines of an immense structure
- structural supports to accommodate something of immense weight
- exquisite Buddhist sculptures
- Taliban declared war on fun: kite-flying, dancing, bird fighting
- lost key to safe
- found a golden artifact from 25 years ago
- unmarked princess grave, kept thieves from looting it
- the ruins had ghosts that would keep people away
- princess was 25-30 years old. layers of dazzling gold jewelry
- Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite-male and female qualities. Greek influence
- Greek garrisons of soldiers were left in Afghanistan
- Alexander's armies depicted their gods in human form
- Buddha has Greek profile and hair, influenced by Apollo, wide open eyes, natural mouth
- Sleeping Buddhas, oriented a specific way, Buddha on edge of Nirvana
- Taliban burned the films "like the dearest friend killed in front of you"
- we worked for our people to have the archive and they burned it
- the staff handed over film prints and not negatives
- we had to preserve the Afghan film archives at any price
- installed wallboard to hide the door
- disabled the lighting system
- religious police never suspected the fake room
- when the Taliban fell, the negatives came out
- they would not allow their heritage to be preserved
- a country with no culture has no history
1. Who is saving cultural heritage in Afghanistan? Archaeologists, Film Archive employees
2. Who is destroying cultural heritage in Afghanistan? The Taliban
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