Free Republic

WASHINGTON: The Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban with the help of Pakistani and Saudi engineers. According to an account published here on Saturday, a local Afghan told the makers of a Swiss documentary on the giant statues which had stood there, carved in the side of a mountain for hundreds of years, had been destroyed by engineers from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The dynamiting of the statues took place in March 2001. Swiss documentary filmmaker Christian Frei, who has made several documentaries that have won praise at various international film festivals, shot ‘The Giant Buddhas’ in...

PERSEPOLIS, once the capital of the Persian empire, and the massive mud-brick Bam citadel are among the nine listed World Heritage Sites in Iran. Yet leading archaeologists are urging colleagues to refuse any military requests to draw up a list of Iranian sites that should be exempted from air strikes. "Such advice would provide cultural credibility and respectability to the military action," said a resolution agreed by the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin, Ireland, last week. Instead, delegates were advised to emphasise the harm that any military action would do to Iran's people and heritage.

The Federal and New South Wales Governments have nominated Sydney's Opera House for World Heritage listing. The governments have signed a joint nomination that will be sent to the World Heritage Centre in Paris, pending a decision mid next year. New South Wales Minister for Arts and Environment Bob Debus says if the nomination is successful the Opera House will be the state's first building to join the list. "Our nomination argues that the Sydney Opera House is an outstanding conjunction of architecture and engineering, a turning point in the modern architectural movement, an exceptional engineering feat."

Expedia, Inc. and United Nations Foundation Announce World Heritage Partnership - Agreement Focuses on Sustainable Tourism, Economic Development, and Promotion of World Heritage Sites and Communities Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), one of the world's leading travel service companies, and the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation), an innovative public charity created by Ted Turner to increase support for the United Nations, today announced a joint initiative to promote sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and communities around the world. The partnership will benefit these places of cultural and natural interest by offering travel opportunities, consumer education, matching donations, and...