832-208931 - Young Chinese woman standing on the sand dunes of the Gobi Desert while photographing the Crescent Lake with the Chinese Pagoda in Dunhuang, Silk Road, Gansu, China, Asia
832-208897 - Camel caravan with tourists in front of the sand dunes of the Gobi Desert during the ascent of Mount Mingshan near Dunhuang, Silk Road, Gansu, China, Asia
832-208898 - Camel caravan with tourists in front of the sand dunes of the Gobi Desert during the ascent of Mount Mingshan near Dunhuang, Silk Road, Gansu, China, Asia
832-190596 - Microlight flight over the Gobi Desert, aerial view of Crescent Lake and the sand dunes in the Gobi Desert, Silk Road, Dunhuang, Gansu, China, Asia
832-121462 - Interior cupola of Gur Emir, Gur-Amir, Guri Amir mausoleum, tomb of Timur, Temur, Tamerlane, Samarkand, Silk Road, Uzbekistan, Central Asia
832-100457 - Muhammad Rakhim Chan Madrassah, Ichan Kala, historic adobe town of Khiva, Chiva, Silk Road, Unesco World Heritage Site, Uzbekistan, Central Asia
832-113722 - Silk Tomb, Petra, the capital city of the Nabataeans, rock city, UNESCO World Hertage Site, Wadi Musa, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Orient, Middle East, Asia
832-113724 - Silk Tomb, Petra, the capital city of the Nabataeans, rock city, UNESCO World Hertage Site, Wadi Musa, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Orient, Middle East, Asia
832-55423 - Tibetan Buddhism, Shoton or Shodon Festival with the unrolling of the huge thangka, a silk painting depicting Buddha, Drepung Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia
857-33993 - Striking Mongol features distinguish the face of a woman and her child (who is blind) living in the ruins of the Qala-i-Dokthar (Daughter's Castle), outside of the town of Bamiyan, August 30, 2002. Most of the old town was destroyed and up to 20,000 people of the region might have perished when Bamiyan fell to the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the ancient Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people.
857-33992 - Striking Mongol features distinguish the face of Hamir Mohammed, his daughter and grandson (who is blind), all living in the ruins of the Qala-i-Dokthar (Daughter's Castle), outside of the town of Bamiyan, August 30, 2002. Most of the old town was destroyed and up to 20,000 people of the region might have perished when Bamiyan fell to the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the ancient Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people
857-33991 - A farmer with his donkey loaded with forage walks toward the setting sun above the town of Bamiyan, August 30, 2002. Most of the old town was destroyed and up to 20,000 people of the region might have perished when Bamiyan fell to the Taliban in 2001. Bamiyan Valley is located in the Hazarajat at the edge of the Koh-i-Baba range , the end of the Hindu Kush. Bamiyan was a prosperous Buddhist kingdom on the ancient Silk Road until the 10th century, when the region was converted to Islam; in the 12th century, it was destroyed by Ghengis Khan. Most of the people of this region are of the Hazara tribe, and are Shi'a Moslems who have been persecuted for centuries by many of the Pashtun rulers of Afghanistan, who are from the Sunni sect. They most recently suffered at the hand of the Taliban, who tried for years to ethnically cleanse the region of its Shi'a people
1196-239 - A solitary mask dancer appears wearing a frightening mask and silk brocade. they circle the courtyard with sprightly leaps. called protectors of faith, or dharmapdla, the origins of figures like these can be traced back to the pre-aryan peoples of india. originally known as yaksas (literally, a wondrous thing), they were tree spirits, who were accepted by the buddhists as defenders of the faith. in nepal and tibet, as in india, local deities were converted into protectors. a devotee of an alien sect devised a means to humiliate the buddha and his disciples. the buddha discovered it and succeeded in converting him to his teaching. due to lack of wisdom, the buddha remarked, some could not realize the goodness of his disciples and he compared the ignorant to the blind and the wise to those who have eyes.nobody is condemned in buddhism, for greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds. -the dhammapada. solu khumbu, nepal