KABUL – Reviving a thousand year-old tradition, Afghan youth in the central highlands gathered this week in the caves at the site of the Buddhas of Bamyan to learn stone carving. The dozen students from local schools and university, half of them girls, created 15 sculptures that will be put on exhibit in Bamyan and in the capital city of Kabul.

The training was organized by artists representing DOCUMENTA 13, a world renowned exhibition of modern and contemporary art that will be held next month. The DOCUMENTA(13) office in Kabul is supported by the Goethe-Institut Kabul. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) supports the project.

“The aim of this training was to revive the thousands of years old intangible cultural heritage of Afghanistan that is stone carving art,” said Bert Praxenthaler, an archeological conservationist from UNESCO.

“The stone carving art in Afghanistan is older than the Buddhas of Bamyan. The Buddhas of Bamyan that once stood was the biggest example of carving art in the world. We tried to restore that by opening a short training course for youth in Bamyan,” Praxenthaler added.

The training was organized in the caves of the destroyed Buddha statues where monks once lived and prayed.

“The location of the training was chosen at the Buddha site to encourage young students and remind them of the renowned carving art that once existed in Bamyan,” said Abbas Ali Allahyar, a professional Afghan stone carver artist and trainer.

According to him the sculptures created by young students can promote tourism industry in Bamyan, and also revive artistry jobs.

A female student at the class, Taeba Khawari said that she cannot believe that in few days she is able to turn an ordinary mountain stone into something valuable.

“I will work to preserve our culture into stones which will remain for centuries like the Buddhas of Bamyan,” Taeba added.

By UNAMA Bamyan