Tourisn on Afghanistan’s silk road

You may know this town as the place of a crime against a world heritage site. Seven years ago, the Taliban regime destroyed two massive Buddha statues that watched over the silk road for years. the scenery here is still great but what’s missing is just as powerful. This man is with a foundation which preserves the district’s history. The foundation is building a tourism information station where one of the Buddha statues used to stand. Many hope another marvel could be unearthed here: a Chinese pilgrim in the sixth century wrote of a bigger statue now thought to be somewhere under the farmlands. Last month a 60-foot reclining Buddha was found in the region and they hope to have it ready to display next year. The region is also rich in legends, including the legend of the dragon, which is partially fueled by geographic landmarks which together resemble the figure of a dragon. That too is now a tourist attraction. Other sites have fantastic stories as well, including ruins of another castle. Truth be told, Afghanistan is not competing much yet as a tourist destination. This man from Toronto did travel though. He heard some rockets in the distance from Kabul but otherwise he says his trip has been good. Even though his friends and family thought he was nuts for coming, locals here are expecting even more tourists to come.