UNESCO said today that it considers Afghanistan prepared to take back some 1,200 artifacts that were taken out of the country between 1998 and 2001 to protect them from fighting.
The artifacts should be back in the country in the first half of 2007.
(AFP)
Saving Afghanistan's Heritage
THE MINARETS OF HERAT: In Afghanistan's leafy western city of Herat, a two-lane road slices between the city's five remaining 15th-century minarets. Every truck, car, bus, motorcycle, and horse-drawn carriage that passes by sends vibrations coursing through the delicate structures.
In particular, the Fifth Minaret -- all 55 meters of it -- seems ready to collapse into a dusty heap of bricks and colored tiles at any moment. A large crack near its base makes drivers speed up just a little as they pass by....(more)RELATED ARTICLES
Afghanistan Protects Storied Bactrian Treasure
Archeologist Hunts For Third Bamiyan Buddha
Musicians Struggling To Revive Classical Heritage After Taliban
ARCHIVE
To view RFE/RL's complete coverage of Afghanistan, click here.
SUBSCRIBE
For weekly news and analysis on Afghanistan by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report."