KABUL: Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is planning to renovate the country’s historic sites. In most recent step, the ministry has renovated the historic Shiwaki’s Stupa in Kabul’s east.
In a ceremony held on this occasion, deputy minister of information and culture for art and culture Mawlavi Atiqullah Azizi said the ministry of information and culture had a comprehensive plan for the renovation of the country’s historic sites, adding that renovation of Shiwaki Stupa, which has been partially destroyed, was part of the ministry’s plan.
“We’re planning to renovate the country’s historic sites and go for excavation on the country’s historic sites having historic artifacts,” Mawlavi Azizi said, adding that with the renovation of the country’s historic sites, more national and international tourists would be attracted to visit historic sites.
According to the MoIC, the renovation project of Shiwaki Stupa, which has 2,000 years history, has been completed with total cost of $8,000.
It is worth mentioning that archeologists have discovered new relics that dates back to the Buddhist era in the Shiwaki area, located 20 km in Kabul’s east. Eight small Buddhist stupas as well as fortifications, walls and 176 other artifacts have been found in the area.
Renovation and repairing of the country’s historic sites can both reflect the culture and identity of Afghanistan with its historical preservation and attract many tourists from different parts of the world. The people living in the vicinity of the Shiwaki Stupa area are asking relevant organs of the Islamic Emirate to build a recreational park, hotel and guesthouse so that visitors from different places and foreign countries come to visit the historic stupa in the area. The Ministry of Information and Culture had previously included Shiwaki’s historical sites in Kabul’s cultural zone.
The area is expected to be transformed into a major center for visitors in the years to come.
It is worth mentioning that the ancient relics from the Buddhist era that have been found in Kabul, Jalalabad and Laghman and other provinces show that these areas were once part of the Gandhara civilization. Gandhara was a major hub of Buddhist civilization for 1,000 years from which
Buddhism was spread to China, Korea, Sri Lanka and Central Asia. Mohammad Daud
MoIC planning to renovate historic sites countrywide
