探索頻道 尋找失去的佛陀11

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At last, after two days' torturous drive, we make it into Mazar-e Sharif. Despite all the fighting, one building has managed to survive all the shells and bombs, the great Blue Mosque. This time, there is no problem with filming. Of course, the same rules apply here: no photography of human faces. So the Taliban clear everybody out of the mosque. I feel a bit guilty. It's almost noon, time for prayers, but rules are rules. No one may strain in front of our cameras. This is one of the holiest shrines in Islam. It's the burial place of Mohammad's son-in-law, Hazrat Ali. Not only is it a spiritual place, but it's one of the most beautiful mosques in the entire Muslim world.

We've just heard some rather disturbing news from the BBC and confirmed by the UN that the US might be moving towards another missile strike on Afghanistan, aimed at one of the camps perhaps associated with the alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden. We can't confirm that, but I got to say standing here in this beautiful serene place, it's, it's incredible to believe that maybe only 40 kilometers away cruise missiles will be landing in the next few hours.

On hearing this- the UN pullout, other foreign aid agencies follow suit and paranoia reigns. All we can do is wait. Two days later, and nothing has happened. This time, the missiles don't come. But false alarms like this are part of daily life here: never knowing when a bomb might fall is just another pressure on the country already living on the edge. With the crisis seemingly passed, the paranoia subsides. And I want to visit the ruins of one of the oldest cities on Earth.

I just heard we've got permission.

Once more, Afghanistan's violent history rises to confront us. This time, the timeline is 3,000 years. This is Balkh, once called "the mother of all cities," though it also could be called "the mother of all cemeteries."

No wondering around places like this is boring to a lot of people. It's just a bunch of stones and bones. But in fact, as you can see that's literally what it is, there're bones all over the place. Most of us just think about the last twenty years of war here in Afghanistan, but really it's about much more, places like Balkh and sites like this all over the country. These bones, these ruins go back to the earliest of times, this is what Afghanistan is really all about.