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Afghanistan, a nation with 5,000 years
of history is located in Central Asia. Because she shares
cultural values and norms with the Middle East, it is located
at the tail of the Middle East. Because of her strategic location,
Afghanistan has become a cross-road of cultures. These include
the Bactrian, the Greeks, the Buddhists, and the Muslims.
The legacy of this is Buddhist art, Greeco-Bactrian art, and
Islamic art and other cultural artifacts. Being the main corridor
of trade between China, Persia and India, Afghanistan was
an important part of the "Silk Road."
Afghanistan also became the cross-road
of empires for regional domination from before the Common
Era such as the Persian Empire (520 BC) to the Alexander the
Great (323 B.C) to Mauryan Empire of India (322 BC) to the
Sasanian Empire (226 AD), to Ghenghis Khan, to the British
to the Russian and to the Americans. Due to its strategic
location, it is called "Highway of Conquest" by
some historians. Because of its magnificent nature, high mountains
and peaks it also gets the nick name of "Switzerland
of Asia".
Despite the fact that Buddhism was
originated in India, but it was truly flourished in Afghanistan.
The tallest Buddha ever sculptured were the two Buddhas of
Bamyian in central Afghanistan that were destroyed by the
Taliban.
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