Swat was once an important center of Buddhist culture and trade. The monk credited with introducing Buddhism to Tibet, Padmasambhava, was born in Swat. A team funded by the Italian government is working with Pakistan's archaeology department to restore and preserve centuries-old Buddhist sites in northwest Pakistan. Militants detonated the face off the towering, 1,500-year-old rock carving in northwest Pakistan in fall 2007, it fell to an intrepid Italian archaeologist, Luca Olivieri, to come to the rescue. – Photos by AP
