This is a dazzling travelling exhibition not to be missed. Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul is touring US museums until September of next year. The show includes over 200 pieces dating from 2200 BC to 200 AD, which were thought to have been looted from the National Museum in Kabul during recent years of ongoing conflict in the country. In August 2003 Afghan president Hamid Karzai announced that the treasures had been found in a presidential palace bank vault. Gold ornaments from the Bactrian hoard excavated at Tillya Tepe are the real show-stoppers of the touring treasures. Wear a headscarf when you go to see the exhibition – – not as a gesture of respect for the predominantly Muslim culture of Afghanistan, but to keep your jaw from dropping to the floor.
Find complete information on National Geographic’s special site dedicated to the exhibition, including exhibition dates in Washington DC, San Francisco, Houston and New York.
Images, National Museum of Afghanistan, ©Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
