While the town of Saman­gan is an ancient car­a­van stop on the periph­ery routes of the old Silk Road, that claim to fame isn’t actu­al­ly it’s major draw. That hon­or goes to the mys­te­ri­ous cave com­plex­es of Takht i Ros­tam that carve their way through the dusty ridges of the moun­tains near­by. These are thought to have been built in the 4th and 5th cen­turies AD, and are adorned with gor­geous Bud­dhist inlays of lotus leaves, all focus­ing on an inner mud-brick stu­pa. They offer an immer­sive glimpse into an almost-for­­got­ten, pre-Mus­lim past.