News of Cental Asia
07.05.2025
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639
The 12-Meter Sleeping Buddha
In southern Tajikistan, near Qurghonteppa, lie the remains of Ajina-Tepa, a Buddhist monastery founded in the 7th century along the Silk Road.
Although active for less than 200 years, it became a key religious center of Mahayana Buddhism in Central Asia.
Among hundreds of artifacts found at the site — from wall paintings to clay statues — the most extraordinary is a 12-meter-long reclining Buddha, symbolizing the moment of nirvana.
The statue is now preserved at the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan in Dushanbe. Ajina-Tepa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 11, 1999.
