Thursday, January 14, 2010

Postcard Friendship Friday




As I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, a novel about the lives of several women against the background of the history of Afghanistan, the Giant Buddhas of Bamyan were mentioned. Because I didn't know much about them I looked them up on the Internet.


In 2006 Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei made a 95-minute documentary titled The Giant Buddhas (released in March 2006) on the statues, the international reactions to their destruction, and an overview of the controversy.

The web site about Frei's film offers incredible
beautifully colored postcards that you can print off (which I did) front and back. I post them below for you. You can go here for the postcards and here for more detailed information.



The Buddhas of Bamyan (Persian: بت های باميان - but hay-e bamiyaan) were two 6th century monumental statues of standing buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan.

They were intentionally dynamited
and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were "idols" (which are forbidden under Sharia law). International opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas, which was viewed as an example of the intolerance of the Taliban. Japan and Switzerland, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.
(Wikipedia)

Go visit Marie at The French Factrice for more postcard lovers and participants in this wonderful meme.


**I will be out of touch for the next couple of days because I'm having a little medical procedure. Read about it here. I'll probably be back on Sunday... :)

14 comments:

Paul van Yperen said...

You found a beautiful subject for a post. The photos are amazing. Get well soon!

amatamari© said...

Thanks for spreading: I remember with sadness this latest act of destruction ...

anemonen said...

Amazing photo Love it!

Postcardy said...

Hope your procedure goes well. I know someone who refused to stay at the hospital if he didn't get internet access. They gave him a double room for himself because it had two phones!

Lyneen said...

The book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini was an amazingly well written book. I never looked up the Giant Buddas and am sorry to hear of their destruction. thanks for sharing a part of history. PFF

Mary said...

Really interesting post! Thanks, and good luck with your medical procedure.

Christine H. said...

A terrible thing to destroy such beauty.
Anyway, hope you are feeling well real soon.

MuseSwings said...

Wonderful post and the postcards are stunning! I saw the documentary several years ago - it's amazing what people have done throughout history in the name of their "god".

viridian said...

Being able to print the postcards off the net - great.
I remember this.

Aimee said...

What a great find...so cool that you can print them right off the net.

Terry said...

Howdy Mary
Oh my what wonderful photos.
I was not aware of any of this .
Destruction is truly a sad thing.
Thank you so much for sharing.
I am wishing all goes well for you with a speedy recovery.
Blessings of joy and good health .
Happy PFF .
Thank you again for the great information .
Happy Trails

Marie Reed said...

Hi Mary! How are you? Are you home from the hospital? Thinking of you:)

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I'm sorry I missed coming by last week I hope you are fully recovered and fighting fit! :)

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

P.S. I can well remember the time when the Buddhas were destroyed. It seems so long ago, yet little seems to have changed.

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