KABUL (SW) – Officials at the Parwan’s Information and Culture Directorate have announced the selection of Topdara Stupa in Parwan as the winner of the cultural heritage merit award by the UNESCO.
Abdul Ghaffar Raofi, the head of culture and tourism at Parwan’s Department of Information and Culture, told Salam Watandar today that this historical monument of Parwan was recognized as the winner of the “Merit” award by the UNESCO in a special ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand.
The awarding ceremony was a part of the 2022 UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Raofi added that the jury emphasized the project’s contribution to the preservation of heritage from an important period in Afghanistan’s history and said that the Topdara Stupa is one of 13 award-winning projects selected from six different countries across the region.
According to the officials, the preservation and restoration work of this stupa and its surroundings has been done by the Afghan Cultural Heritage Preservation and Advisory Organization (ACHCO) between 2020 and 2022 with the financial assistance of the International Union for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (ALIPH).
Guldara stupa appears to have been established in the late 2nd century CE, as it contained six gold coins of the Kushan king Vima Kadphises ruled c. 113-127 CE, the father of Kanishka I, and two from Huvishka, Kanishka’s son, who is thought to have ruled c. 150-190 CE.
ENDS