Suchergebnisse

This article describes activity at two Buddhist sites, Topdara (Parwan province) and Shewaki (south-east of Kabul) in Afghanistan undertaken by the Afghan Cultural Heritage Consulting Organisation (ACHCO) between 2016 and 2022. It entailed documentation, excavation, conservation and partial reconstruction of stupas and other structures associated with Buddhist monastic orders. The sites are part of a string of religious institutions situated along trade and pilgrimage routes that traversed the region, some of which have been the focus of previous surveys, archaeological excavation and analysis. The primary objective of this work was to document and conserve the surviving physical fabric of the stupas and adjacent buildings, while examining their siting and similarities in form and architectural style with other Buddhist monuments in the region. The interventions also provided an opportunity to observe the attitudes of both the Afghan work-force and members of the Afghan public towards their Buddhist heritage, for which there seems to be a degree of curiosity and respect that tends to be lacking in recent accounts of such sites being "endangered."

Architect Jolyon Leslie has known the Afghan capital for decades and witnessed its changing fortunes. Here he tells of the fragile city's changing make-up with the help of the man who cuts his hair. Adapted from the source document.

The article looks at the legacy of the way in which the donors and aid organisations operated in the past, and the manner in which they dealt with both the Mujaheddin and Taliban administrations. It examines how, in a period characterised by progressive hardening of political positions, accompanied by increasing aid conditionality, efforts to achieve greater coherence between political and aid strategies and to establish "principled" positions often led to conflict and contradictions and at times seemed to undermine the impartiality of the international community. It explores the extent to which the present pace and nature of international support for political and reconstruction activities are enabling - or not - the emergence of an administration in Kabul that has domestic legitimacy and can effectively manage reconstruction. (DSE/DÜI)