Bāmīān

Town in Afghanistan, northwest of the capital Kabul, in the valley of the Bāmīān River and at an altitude of 2,548 m/8,360 ft; population (2001 est) 28,900. Bāmīān is a long-established stopping place and centre of trade on a major caravan route linking India with central Asia. It is also important as an ancient religious centre, where from the 2nd to the 9th century AD many Buddhist monuments were built along, and sometimes from, the valley cliffs.

The monuments, reported to have been severely damaged by the Afghan political and religious military force the Taliban in 2000, include monasteries and temples shaped from caves, as well as two famous standing statues of Buddha, carved in niches within the cliff face. The smaller of these statues was 37 m/120 ft high, while the larger, reputed to be the world's tallest sculpture of its kind, reached a height of 53 m/175 ft.