Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank journeys to Afghanistan on an expedition into the heart of its war torn cities and mountainous regions in search of what remains of its once rich cultural heritage. Over the last 20 years, Afghanistan has been blown apart by successive civil wars and the tyrannical regime of the Taliban. This was a country with a unique cultural identity, whose ancient trade road, the Silk Route, had brought a great fusion of influences from the Han dynasty in the East, the Caesar dynasty in the West and from India in the South. Now Afghanistan lies in ruins and archaeological sites and architectural ruins have been plundered by soldiers and profiteers. For this Omnibus Special, Dan Cruickshank attempts to discover what cultural treasures remain. He travels to Bamiyan to see first hand the colossal Buddhas that were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. He meets the Hazara people of Bamiyan, who speak openly about life under the Taliban. In Kabul, Dan visits the town�s museum which has lost approximately 70% of its collection. All artifacts containing imagery thought contradictory to the Taliban version of Islam were destroyed. What little remains is due to the heroics of museum staff and members of the Afghan "Cultural Resistance" who risked their lives to save art work. Dan Cruickshank is one of the Britain�s leading architectural and historic building experts.

For more information about this program, click here.

For more information about Don Cruickshank�s Afghanistan project, click here.