タリバンが見せたくないアフガニスタン

タリバンが見せたくないアフガニスタン

Afghanistan a country too often defined by massacres terror and war a nation reduced to its rulers while the lives of 42 million civilians are overlooked we’re on a mission to show their side the side ignored between the headlines a side rich in culture and ancient heritage set against stunning nature and everyday life families working the fields kids playing in the streets and shopkeepers ready to welcome you in over the next two weeks we’ll travel from Mazari Sharif to Kabul crossing valleys villages and mountain passes not to tell the story of war but to witness daily life as it unfolds and today that journey has brought us to Bamiyan this is Afghanistan beyond the conflict we’re travelling with let’s be Friends Afghanistan the organisation that supported us with visas and arranged a car and driver for the entire trip travelling in Afghanistan can be expensive and difficult to organise on your own which is why we chose to work with them we’ll leave their link in the description for anyone who’s interested in learning more good morning we are currently in the beautiful Bamiyan which is one of the more uh clean and safe places in Afghanistan it’s also very open minded here compared to some other places that we have been and uh we’re staying in a hotel called the Royal Hotel it’s very beautiful nowadays it’s also forbidden to show any image of any living being so they even covered the stone lions with a cloth now another depiction of living beings that suffered an even worse fate were the bamiyan Buddhas once towering over the valley as Afghanistan’s most iconic landmarks they survived more than 1,400 years of history until in 2001 when the Taliban turned their weapons on them firing for weeks before finally reducing them to rubble with explosives even archaeologists were forced to assist in the destruction sparking an international outcry today only empty niches remain carved into the cliffs haunting reminders of Afghanistan’s ancient heritage and of how much has been lost wow this is really spectacular oh it’s very sad that they were destroyed because it must have been a majestic sight to look at you have to jump here? oh it’s very controlled to go in here why does it have this structure still? Afghanistan has countless cultural treasures yet the remains of the Bamiyan Buddhas are one of only two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the entire country they are marked as in danger and the question still divides experts today do you think they should restore it or leave it like this it shows the history maybe more was it destroyed using dynamite inside the mount and what is it why specifically this place it’s about the Taliban it is strictly forbidden to film or interview locals about anything that has to do with them and their politics as for why it was specifically this place some say the Buddhas were destroyed purely for religious reasons others believe it was retaliations against US imposed sanctions Taliban leaders at the time even claimed that money spent on restoration should go towards feeding children instead what’s often forgotten is that countries like India and Japan offered not just to preserve the statues but to pay large sums of money to take them abroad to museums the Taliban refused today many locals see it differently they believe that if the Buddhas had been restored tourism could have brought in far more money to feed the needy do you know how long it took to make this were these the feet of the Buddha yeah to see a little bit in the scope how big it was even inside the cave here all the small Buddhas that were here they’re all destroyed there’s nothing left the Buddhas that they removed from this the Buddhas that they removed from this room since they weren’t exploded did they like also put them somewhere or did they just destroy them can you shine with your light wow it’s quite deep here there’s probably also been small Buddhas in here they didn’t leave anything here this also goes partly underground here oh that goes all the way deep in the mountain here not very safe to walk here because the stairs are very very steep have you never seen this before? I wonder what it was used for then probably also should have put a fence here that tourists do not go here because I don’t think they like the tourists go in this hole why is there silver paper on there there’s a rock falling down everything from the statues that came down after it was exploded is kept here under these roofs as a final Protection but you can’t really recognize much of it anymore before Islam this region was of course Buddhist and the descendants of these people are the people that live here now the Hazara and of course these Buddhas they were very important for them not only culturally but also to show their artistry and right next to the Buddhas all these holes you see in the mountains those are remains of the houses where the Hazara people once lived nowadays most of them they don’t live in the caves here anymore although outside the city there are still a few caves left where they still live this site must have been very sad for them that it was destroyed because it also is a bit of a sign a symbol of their repression in the country the Hazara people have faced repeated persecution and violence throughout Afghanistan’s history one of the worst moments came in 1998 when the Taliban captured the city of Mazar i Sharif in just a few days around 8,000 Hazara men women and children lost their lives entire neighborhoods were targeted and families were torn apart for the Hazara community the memory of Mazar i Sharif remains one of the darkest chapters in their history leaving deep scars and a lasting mistrust towards the Taliban that continues to this day this is one of the homes next to the Buddha so this is a cave here and this is where the Hazara used to live there’s not much of it left now even the front is entirely gone but it sure has a very nice view now it must have been really beautiful going up is easier than going down what an Indiana Jones moment yeah if you take speed and you just right down from the Buddhas there’s a small cemetery here in between the fields it’s a very beautiful sight to have your last resting place both Buddhas are entirely fenced around and you just saw that someone had to come and open the door for us to be let in that’s because local people from here they’re not allowed to visit them it’s only for tourists some of the houses are in such a good condition still that they still have a door in there even another smaller Buddha that also got destroyed and the houses would be just right underneath him you can still see the black from the smoke that the people used to use there’s another Buddha here and this one is a female and this one is a little bit more preserved because you can still see the arm and the outlet of where the arms were a bit of the shoulder and they tried to preserve it a little bit and reconstruct it even with the stones here it looks a bit like chicken legs indeed and this one you can also go all the way up now this cave is better preserved you can still see some of the remains it’s not much but you still see some colour here you can still see the full Buddha they only removed his face but his head is still visible hello this is good for a horror film here this goes all the way in there it’s easy to get lost in all these caves I think you can scan some QR code here what does it give that’s information for Japanese wow wow this is very high must have been crazy to carve this out without all these bars 6th century even better yeah some of the parts here are not in a good condition anymore it would be too dangerous it seems because if you fall here it’s just straight 20 meters down the surroundings of the caves here are very photographic with all the potato fields it smells a lot like potato here in the media this place is mostly known for what is destroyed but there is a lot more to see this is Shahr-i Gholghola or the city of screams and it has this name because this fortified city was betrayed to the Mongols by a rival prince and as a reply to that Genghis Khan he ordered his army to massacre all the people here and destroy the city and only these ruins are what remain were these places where people would live in this well these are some interesting stairs oh it’s quite of a maze here what does UNESCO do to protect the site here and then a member of the Taliban joined us both for our own safety as well as to watch over us all the way on the top of the mountain you still have the remains of the minaret still standing tall well this was a tour guide this is Bamyani Wais is the name and Bamyani should be his last name yeah people are named here after the city I walked a little bit further from them because the t guy is the whole time with us and it’s very controlling he can see the whole time on my camera what I’m filming and whenever he doesn’t like that I’m filming something then he says it to the guide and then I have to delete it so it feels a bit like North Korea here our guide advised us to refer to the Taliban as the t guys a way to speak about them without drawing attention and to avoid any problems or conflict when they’re nearby is the Bible or the Quran thicker but the Quran is the update, right? it has the stories of the Bible plus more yeah canceled I can see if Muhammad had enough time to clean the car what is he saying oh really oh it’s very windy here perfect because it’s so warm and this that’s actually quite well but you almost fly away oh these valleys are so beautiful here most of the Hazara people they make a living by working on the fields and selling potatoes on the market they’ve just all recently done this so all this is done by the UNESCO this place was one of the most strategically important places of the region and it’s very high I’m again almost out of breath because we’re above 4,000 m and it’s very steep here but uh this is called the Red City named after the Red stone of course and this was a military base where before people would protect the valley over there where you have the Buddhas Afghanistan really is a very beautiful country with a lot of hidden gems and natural wonders but it’s a bit difficult to get around sometimes but it’s totally worth it and now we go up on this very steep part I hope so wow what a view on the way here a Taliban fighter was using the scope on his rifle to scan the surroundings so you think that they can shoot their gun from here all the way here so that’s why they’re looking through the this is in a quite a good condition still I mean it’s not great but you can still see all the structures of the wall and there as well you can see the remains of the wall on this very steep cliff very well preserved still and at the end of the wall when you pass that you could see the valley very green valley in between all the red rocks beyond these ancient ruins we also wanted to see how the Hazara people live today but under Taliban restrictions we weren’t allowed to visit their homes directly so the closest we could get was visiting one of their villages most of the Hazara people in the region nowadays they live in houses like this here in this village but traditionally they lived in caves on these mountains and over there there’s still a few that actually still live in the caves in the old way ah here you can see some of the houses in the caves where the people still live in the traditional way when we tried to set up an interview with a local family living in a cave our guide had to ask the Taliban for permission they refused saying they only want to show an image of Afghanistan as prosperous and improving with a group like the Hazaras it only contributes to further silencing their voices and making them subject to more discrimination was it prior to 2001 more touristy here? then the hippies used to come here Afghanistan was once part of the famous hippie trail stretching from London to Goa and Bangkok long before war ever reached this region in the 1980s and 90s the Soviets took control of
Afghanistan’s cities while fighting the mujahideen in the countryside when the USSR withdrew the factions turned on each other paving the way for the rise of the Taliban who ruled from 1996 to 2001 with strict laws and a hardline interpretation of Islam that discouraged all forms of tourism fast forward to today and the Taliban are pushing for international recognition by promoting Afghanistan as the safest it’s been in decades a claim challenged by the Islamic State Khurasan Province an armed group opposed to the Taliban in May 2024 right on this market where we are now they carried out an attack that claimed the lives of six people including three Spanish tourists along with multiple other assaults targeting Taliban officials and ministers these ongoing threats cast doubt on the Taliban’s claims of safety we headed to the bazaar in need of new clothes and a stranger somehow knew that and guided us straight to a shop Salam Alaikum good marketing OK we got a new outfit now we still need a matching hat maybe the dark brown one the second one oh this rolls all the way down like this so what is the name of this kind of hat Pakol let me see yeah I think this is good great perfect look at me I don’t think you have to put your hair that back or do you I don’t know I don’t know they have some street food here called Bulani what is it exactly very good if this is like this does this still work or not I feel so weird giving like a Bill that is half ripped since the Taliban took over Afghanistan hasn’t produced any new currency as they lack the resources to run a mint okay don’t tell anyone else now I gave all my tens away if you go to bigger cities do most people always wear the traditional clothing or do you also see like young people that wear like Westernized styles but before it was different then there’s so much going on in every corner don’t know where to look first and also everyone is eyeing us all the time you see a lot of foreigners? foreign tourists? not much also very friendly people thank you how old are you was nice to meet you let’s go try some traditional food from Afghanistan get kebab OK I have it upside down that’s a good start that’s a k that was nice I’ll take that again do they have that Afghan version of Cola there’s always Afghan version okay great that’s perfect much better than Coca Cola we’re not drinking that one hey the next day we headed straight on our way to
band-e amir the oldest national park of the country all along the road there are still leftover tanks here like this one is this also a Soviet tank how do you even get in this they had to sit here then and then just their head’s out there let’s go inside the tank it actually is a lot more spacious inside here than it looks from the outside oh this is even better than a Range Rover wow this is very beautiful it’s like the Grand Canyon of Afghanistan oh it’s very interesting that the lake is higher than the ground next to it so it goes over it and there’s some waterfalls there that go in the valley it’s very windy here it’s quite cold there’s some people swimming there I don’t know if I will also be swimming soon Belgium very beautiful country very nice people as well well where are you from in Afghanistan how is it like to be back yeah? you’re visiting with family or by yourself does it freeze here in the winter so this is frozen you can walk here really here’s also again a checkpoint so even if you want to just go to a lake here you still have to give your passport and get permission and pass all that it’s just always like that Trump 2024 keep America great what? it says on the card Trump 2024 keep America great why the fuck would someone vote for Trump here oh there’s a whole tent camp here good how are you Assalamualaikum seems like the perfect space also to buy some souvenirs here is that a real bullet my dad had a necklace like this and he swallowed it swallowed the bullet he swallowed it? yeah how do you swallow a bullet I don’t know he was young he was playing with it and he like accidentally swallowed it I hope that came out you gave me this salty it’s like a cow um ball or something right cow ball like from the sour milk tea? wow it smells very strong eat like this definitely gonna need this because travelling gives me a lot of stomach ache all the time great now I got all the herbal medicine that I need to survive while travelling and popcorn this is really the most perfect picnic spot and it’s not too warm here because it’s a bit more of a mild climate here so really perfect these people really found the most comfortable spot like that oh nice yeah you got it oh I have to throw it a lot slower last one ah here we can rent a boat oh he’s just swimming with all his clothing on so apparently the Taliban has lowered the prices because they were asking too much money for the boats and the Taliban has made it mandatory for them to ask a lower price but now they’re striking so now they don’t wanna rent any boats anymore so now it’s just uh have to ask them if they still want to rent out the motorboat but then we have to pay a little bit more okay they agreed to take us in their motorboat for thousand five hundred Afghani you need a second person for that oh there’s water is ice cold this is really a side of Afghanistan that I was not expecting to see being on a motorboat on a lake very touristy there’s another boat there that is signaling that we have to go there we’re on land I think this must be the most private beach I’ve ever been no one can see you from here and if they drop us here and they go away you never get away from here let’s see how cold this water is how do people swim in this it’s so cold this is how far I get I think my balls are already freezing now now it doesn’t feel cold anymore though maybe I should go all the way in oh you’re such an asshole haha what do you think of Afghanistan so far I think it’s much more beautiful than I expected I think it has much more I didn’t know they had such beautiful natural landscape and especially like above all I think the people are the most hospitable when people say Afghans are like angry or like the pictures you see on Google like angry t guys or something but that’s really not the case like even if you film people here they smile at you and they like pose for you the complete opposite of what people think about it yeah I mean you mentioned the t guys I do think that of course a perception as a tourist towards them is different than how the local perceive them because they will treat them differently we are a bit privileged to not really be able to say something about that yeah but the local the actual local people they’re very friendly they’re one of the sweetest persons people that uh we encountered on this trip so far besides the Filipinos yeah Filipinos you want some popcorn people always ask if Afghanistan is safe and yes there are still risks but daily life here feels far more ordinary than the conflict ridden image we constantly see in the media and far more enjoyable than most people would ever believe and what you’re seeing now is only the surface Afghanistan has still so much more to reveal yeah you need to jump I’ll call the security guard to open the door uh they want to restore the statue but they stopped and they left the structure in here if they restore maybe a lot of people they will come to visit it will be good for the new generation but if they’re gonna leave it like this yeah falling rocks helmet we don’t have helmet we have the scarf yeah so there were stories still recording? cause it’s about the… Allahu Akbar! almost 2 to three centuries and it’s all handwork you know yeah those are the feet of the buddha really! so that stayed no please don’t there weren’t any small statues when they exploded the big one when the people of the area converted to Islam they removed them don’t make too much noise I’ve never seen it before these are probably the same stairs that were there when it was first built this one is just the UNESCO did this one for the Protection of the debris it’s interesting that they just made this with clay and rocks you can just run Chicken legs if you were here in 2001 you had front row view on this sight probably wouldn’t have survived it though maybe in the 6th century because buddha can see all freshly done then you can smell the cow dung right now, on the top they’re working I just don’t know what they’re doing but at least last year they did the pathway to walk all the way to up like the staircase do not take his picture he shouldn’t be on the film stupid tourists Wais bamyani that’s a good question yeah but I think it’s the Bible because they always add more stories from their head that’s very insensitive to any christian who’s watching sorry this is Afghanistan as much as you clean it’s gonna be dirty again there’a speaker in front of us announcing the football tournament playing soccer I thought it was something serious yes, recently yeah they believe this city existed 550 or 330 years before Christ during the muslim era that was the best period for the city then unfortunately during the Gengis Khan invasion the city was destroyed yeah but isn’t an M4 a mid range rifle? it’s mid range yeah like AK-47 but I think he had a four times scope but I don’t know if he can shoot all the way here yeah so they can see us if they want to not in the 90’s and 80’s maybe at that time it was zero during the 1960’s yeah at that time was the season of the tourists in Afghanistan what makes it safer now here than last year that thing can happen everywhere it’s not just only in Afghanistan it could be happening in Paris it could be happening in the US but now it’s pretty safe i don’t know how he knew we were looking for clothes thank you from the top Pakol no it doesn’t fit at all half a kilo thank you it’s potato and vegetables what do you think of it? thanks still works yes thanks nowadays, all the people are in traditional clothes before it was different yeah no this is the first time I see them also you are friendly 23 o’clock nice to meet you too take care kebab kebab kebab okay, try reading the dari Kabuli it means Kabuli pulao it’s all over, the Afghan version i look like the Kaaba stay off my pulao yeah it’s so small I thought it would be bigger there should be like a seat or something over there yeah they still put some oil in here just some oil and it fixes it the tank Whack-a-mole in this part of the country you can find a lot of these tanks like this that are just left the last few years the Taliban has removed a lot of them so it’s quite lucky to still find some of them actually this is the symbol from the mujahideen? yeah, that’s their symbol Belgium how do you find Afghanistan? how about the Taliban? better say nothing Ghazni, but I live in Australia I’m going back after 20 years it’s… it’s good yes, with family, my mom yeah it does you can walk people playing soccer over there yeah it becomes -30 to -35 these dams were made by Ali the cousin of Prophet Muhammad he was here and he made it that’s why they made a shrine or a mosque over there and people come and pray over there as well a legend, the locals believe but it’s naturally separated from each others over the centuries you know Stockholm Syndrome hello how are you Assalamualaikum I know this guy he was working for the department of tourism before looks like it he just pooped it out cow ball yeah from the mountain you just shred it in your hand they call it in the local language rerou rerou rerou very français rerou🇫🇷🥖 so how do you hold it like this? no no no what do you want me to shoot now the green one that was not the plan but I got something in the cassette they put money if you put the ring on the one you selected you will gain the 50 Afghani or 10 Afghani whatever they have I’m gonna make Titanic movie yeah you need Jack this is Guantanamo you can check in but never leave I shouldn’t do this slo- -wly *speaking dutch* let’s go æ œ æ now I don’t feel anything anymore

Is this the most dangerous country on earth?

In 2025, I traveled deep into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to visit Bamyan and Band-e-Amir — regions that hold both breathtaking beauty and tragic history.

This vlog takes you beyond the headlines: from the haunting ruins of the Buddhas of Bamyan destroyed by the Taliban, to the crystal-blue lakes of Band-e-Amir where I took a small boat, to the Soviet tanks still rusting in the valleys, reminders of decades of war. I also explore the ancient Red City fortress, hidden forts in the mountains, and the everyday life of people trying to survive under strict Taliban rule.

This is a rare look at Afghanistan the Taliban doesn’t want shown to the world. A story of persecution, resilience, and beauty that still survives amidst one of the most repressive regimes on earth.

BOOK YOUR TOUR WITH: https://www.letsbefriendsafghanistan.com.af/

📍 Locations: Bamyan, Band-e-Amir
📅 Filmed: 2025
🎥 Style: Raw documentary vlog

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WATCH NEXT:

👁️ Watch next: The LAST JEWS of Kochi

👁️ Watch next: Living with the World’s Largest Crocodiles in the Philippines

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CHAPTERS
00:00 – Welcome to Taliban Afghanistan;
0:42 – Let’s Be Friends Afghanistan (Tour Agency);
1:01 – Arrival in Bamyan;
1:34 – Taliban Destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan;
6:19 – Hazara Persecution in Afghanistan;
7:44 – Inside the Ruins of the Buddhas;
9:57 – The “City of Screams” Fortress;
11:50 – Taliban Following Us;
12:54 – Red City Destroyed by Genghis Khan;
15:25 – What the Taliban Doesn’t Want Shown;
16:43 – Taliban Attack at Local Market;
18:31 – Eating Afghan Street Food;
19:38 – Talking with Locals in Bamyan;
20:13 – Eating Kebab in Afghanistan;
21:05 – Abandoned Soviet Tanks in the Mountains;
21:53 – Story of a Local Who Escaped Afghanistan;
23:43 – “Trump” in Afghanistan;
23:55 – Buying Afghan Souvenirs;
25:42 – Shooting a Gun in Taliban Afghanistan;
26:41 – Renting a Boat from the Taliban (Band-e-Amir);
28:51 – Why We Love Afghanistan;

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🎵 Music from Epidemic Sound: https://share.epidemicsound.com/20vlz7
🎬 Stock & Drone Footage: 1.envato.market/mOojBM

🎒 Travel Gear:
– GRAYL Filter Bottle: https://alnk.to/bEk7dlD
– DJI Pocket 3
– DJI Action
– iPhone 16

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WHO AM I?
Hi, I’m Jonathan Le Blanc. I create raw, documentary-style travel videos to tell human stories that rarely make it to the mainstream. My channel explores misunderstood, overlooked, or misrepresented places around the world.

Let’s connect:
✅ Instagram: @the__absurdist
✅ TikTok: @the__absurdist
✅ Email: jonathanlc95@gmail.com
✅ Twitter/X: https://x.com/IamtheAbsurdist
✅ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.le.blanc.704075/

Join the channel for exclusive behind-the-scenes content and support future videos:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2LTeP64MJLLZOC1FNUhFA/join

💟 Edited by: @Ajjouche on IG

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