Bamyan’s Zahak historic site’s repair works kick off

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): Repair works of historic site Zahak city in central Bamyan province have started, local officials said on Saturday.

The ruins of Zahak city are registered with the United Nations Education and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Safiullah Raid, Information and Culture Department head, told Pajhwok Afghan News the restoration of Zahak city --- one of the most important historical places of Bamyan -- had recently started.

Zahak’s restoration project will cover some general routes of this city, sewage channels, meditation towers and some parts of royal citadel walls at a cost of $40,000 paid by UNESCO.

Raid said hundreds of historic sites existed in Bamyan, but only eight of them were registered with UNESCO and most of them needed restoration.

Some university lecturers in Bamyan said historic sites had fallen into decay due to negligence.

Laiq Mohammadi, an archaeology professor at Bamyan University, said Bamyan was one of the important historic provinces of Afghanistan, which has the history of thousands of years.

He said hundreds of other historic monuments were facing destruction and even most of them were not registered with relevant organizations. “These historic sites and monuments display the rich and lengthy history and civilization of this area.”

The professor said over the past some years, many parts of these ancient sites had destroyed due to natural factors such as snow and rain and the negligence of local residents living around the ancient sites.

If relevant bodies do not pay attention to the repair of such historic sites and monuments, some of them could completely destroy, he said.

aw/ma