Experts trying to restore Afghanistan’s Buddhist treasures say it is like working on a 1,500-year-old puzzle. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed Buddhist artifacts, many of which were one thousand years old or more. The artifacts include two huge statues of Buddha in Bamyan province. Many smaller artifacts found at Buddhist religious centers and kept in the national museum of Kabul also faced destruction. After the Taliban government fell in 2001, the museum began repairing the artifacts from the country’s Buddhist history. The U.S.-supported project will try to reassemble thousands of pieces into statues within the next three years. “It is very important (work) because it is actually restoration of our…identity, our past,” said Mohammad Fahim Rahimi. He is the director of the 100-year-old National Museum of Afghanistan. “Buddhism was…here for more than 1,000 years. That’s a very large part of our history,” he added. But since the Soviet invasion of the 1980s, Afghanistan has had nearly 40 years of war and much of the country’s art, artifacts and architecture has been destroyed.
Title: Buddhism: A Large Part of Afghanistan History
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/A.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Buddhism: A Large Part of Afghanistan History' data-article-id='5488'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='11688'>Experts trying to restore Afghanistan’s Buddhist treasures say it is like working on a 1,500-year-old puzzle.</span> <span data-start-time='11688' data-end-time='23042'>In 2001, the Taliban destroyed Buddhist artifacts, many of which were one thousand years old or more.</span> <span data-start-time='23042' data-end-time='31604'>The artifacts include two huge statues of Buddha in Bamyan province.</span> <span data-start-time='31604' data-end-time='43458'>Many smaller artifacts found at Buddhist religious centers and kept in the national museum of Kabul also faced destruction.</span> <span data-start-time='43458' data-end-time='56229'>After the Taliban government fell in 2001, the museum began repairing the artifacts from the country’s Buddhist history.</span> <span data-start-time='56229' data-end-time='67708'>The U.S.-supported project will try to reassemble thousands of pieces into statues within the next three years.</span> <span data-start-time='67708' data-end-time='81021'>“It is very important (work) because it is actually restoration of our…identity, our past,” said Mohammad Fahim Rahimi.</span> <span data-start-time='81021' data-end-time='88500'> He is the director of the 100-year-old National Museum of Afghanistan.</span> <span data-start-time='88500' data-end-time='94021'>“Buddhism was…here for more than 1,000 years.</span> <span data-start-time='94021' data-end-time='98708'>That’s a very large part of our history,” he added.</span> <span data-start-time='98708' data-end-time='115521'>But since the Soviet invasion of the 1980s, Afghanistan has had nearly 40 years of war and much of the country’s art, artifacts and architecture has been destroyed.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/AA.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=17034 data-hint-location='43458' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/what_is_an_artifact.wav'>What is an artifact?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice=' a simple object that was made by people in the past'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/a_buddhist_monk.wav'><span>a Buddhist monk</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/_a_simple_object_that_was_made_by_people_in_the_past.wav'><span> a simple object that was made by people in the past</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/museum_quality_artwork.wav'><span>museum- quality artwork</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/newspaper_factcheckers.wav'><span>newspaper fact-checkers</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=17035 data-hint-location='81021' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/what_museum_was_mentioned_in_this_article.wav'>What museum was mentioned in this article?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='National Museum of Afghanistan'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/national_museum_of_afghanistan.wav'><span>National Museum of Afghanistan</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/the_louvre.wav'><span>The Louvre</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/smithsonian.wav'><span>Smithsonian</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/national_history_museum.wav'><span>National History Museum</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=17036 data-hint-location='88500' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/buddhism_was_in_afghanistan_for_more_than__blank_.wav'>Buddhism was in Afghanistan for more than <span class='blank'> 1,000 years</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice=' 1,000 years'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/_200_years.wav'><span> 200 years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/_5000_years.wav'><span> 5,000 years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/_1000_years.wav'><span> 1,000 years</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4964/_100_years.wav'><span> 100 years</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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