The cavity where the largest of the Buddha’s of Bamiyan statues, known to locals as the &quot;Father Buddha,&quot; used to stand towers above the Bamyan valley, June 16, 2012. The monumental statues were built in A.D. 507 and 554 and were the largest statues of standing Buddha on Earth until the Taliban dynamited them in 2001. Photo Credit: Sgt. Ken Scar, US Army, Wikimedia Commons.