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Travel

The Buddha of Swat in Pakistan smiles again

July 12, 2018

The Buddha of Swat, carved on a cliff in the seventh century, was dynamited by the Pakistani Taliban in 2007. Now it has been restored, a powerful symbol of tolerance in the traumatised Pakistani valley.

https://p.dw.com/p/31JtW
Pakistan Wiederherstellung der Buddha Statuen im Swat-Tal
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Majeed

The holy figure, depicted in a lotus position at the base of a granite cliff in northern Pakistan, was severely damaged by Islamist insurgents in an echo of the Afghan Taliban's complete destruction of its more imposing counterparts at Bamiyan in 2001.

Im Krieg zerstörte Kulturstätten Bamiyan Buddha Stauen
The Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan were destroyed in March 2001 by the TalibanImage: Getty Images/AFP

For some, it was a wanton act of vandalism that struck at the heart of the area's unique history and identity. It felt "like they killed my father", says Parvesh Shaheen, a 79-year-old expert on Buddhism in Swat.

Pakistan Wiederherstellung der Buddha Statuen im Swat-Tal
Swat Valley in PakistanImage: Getty Images/AFP/A. Majeed

The Buddha sits in Jahanabad, the epicentre of Swat's Buddhist heritage, a beautiful valley in the foothills of the Himalayas. There the Italian government has been helping to preserve hundreds of archaeological sites, working with local authorities who hope to turn it into a place of pilgrimage once more and pull in sorely needed tourist dollars.

is/ch (AFP)