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A VISIT TO BAMIYAN AND BAND AMUR AFGHANISTAN NOV 3-5, 197504:15 – 3 years ago Don traveled through northern Afghanistan to Mazar-i-Sharif, Bamiyan and Kabul in Nov., 1975, on his way from Canada to Australia. Bamian is first mentioned in 5th Century AD Chinese sources and was visited by the Chinese travelers Fa-hsien around 400 AD and Hsüan-tsang in 630 AD; it was by that time a centre of commerce and of the Buddhist religion. Two great figures of Buddha there date from this period; the larger is 53 m high and the smaller is 120 feet. These statues are carved from the living rock and are finished with fine plaster. When Hsüan-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 Bamian a major Afghan archaeological 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.
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