Bamiyan Valley is in ((Afghanistan)). It is important for cultural landscape and archaeological remains representing the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient ((Bakhtria)), integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the ((Taliban)) of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001. In 2003 this site was included in the List of World Heritage in danger maintained by UNESCO. The Buddha statues and the cave art in the Valley are an outstanding representation of the Gandharan school in Buddhist art in the Central Asian region. The artistic and architectural remains are an exceptional testimony to the interchange of Indian, Hellenistic, Roman, Sasanian influences as the basis for the development of a particular artistic expression in the Gandharan school. To this can be added the Islamic influence in a later period. It also bears an exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition in the Central Asian region, which has disappeared. The Valley is an outstanding example of a cultural landscape which illustrates a significant period in Buddhism. The site is also considered as the most monumental expression of the western Buddhism. It was an important centre of pilgrimage over many centuries. Due to their symbolic values, the monuments have suffered at different times of their existence, including the deliberate destruction in 2001 by Taliban led by ((Al Quaida)).