The Bamiyan Valley Afghanistan showing the ancient caves of the Kushan Dynasty. The main town, located in central Afghanistan. It lies northwest of Kabul, the nation’s capital, in the Bamiyan Valley at an elevation of 2590 meters. The tourist traffic has prompted the building of a tourist center and a government hotel in the town. Population (1988 est ) 8700. Bamiyan is first mentioned in 5th century A.D. Chinese sources and was visited by the Chinese travelers Fa-hsien around 400 A.D; and Hsuan-tsang in 630 A.D; it was by that time a centre of commerce and of the Buddhist religion. Two great figure of the Buddha there date from this period; the larger is 53 meter high and the smaller is 120 feet. These statues are carved from the living rock and are finished with fine plaster. When Hsuan-tsang saw the figures, they were decorated with gold and fine jewels. The two Buddha figures, together with numerous ancient man -made caves in the cliffs north of the town, have made Bamiyan a major Afghan archeological site. The caves are of various forms and the interiors of many bear traces of fine fresco painting that links them with contemporary caves in Sinkiang, china the modern town lies below the caves. The town was ruled in the 7th century by princes, but was subject to the western Turks. The rulers first accepted Islam in the 8th century. The Saffarid ruler captured Bamiyan in 871; after changing hands several times, it was destroyed and its inhabitants exterminated in 1221 by the Mongol invader Genghis Khan. Since that time it has never regained its former glory. In 1840 Bamiyan was the scene of fighting in the first Anglo-Afghan war
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