An Afghan woman sits in her cave early in the morning in Bamiyan on
November 10, 2009. The cave dwellers here are all Hazara, who are
religiously and ethnically distinct and survivors of intense
persecution by the Taliban. Bamiyan, some 200 km (124 miles) northwest
of Kabul, stands in a deep green and lush valley stretching 100 km
through central Afghanistan, on the former Silk Road that once linked
China with Central Asia and beyond. The town was home to two nearly
2,000-year-old Buddha statues before they were destroyed by the
Taliban, months before their regime was toppled in a US-led invasion in
late 2001. By Shah Marai/Getty.
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