From the mountains of Afghanistan to the beaches of the Pacific, with simple ceremonies and heartfelt words, Asia yesterday remembered the victims of September 11th when the world woke up to the fury of global terrorism.
At dawn the American flag was raised and then lowered to half mast at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, where US troops are spearheading the fight against al-Qaeda militants blamed for the carnage one year ago.
And in the Afghan capital, a ceremony was held at the US embassy to bury a fragment of New York's World Trade Centre in commemoration of the attacks which ushered in a new era for the war-torn country.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the attacks as an act of almost unparalleled violence.
"The history of humanity has hardly ever witnessed such brutality," Karzai said in a message read by vice-president Karim Khalili. "The conscience of humankind will never forget this unforgivable misdeed."
But the solemn mood of remembrance belied underlying tensions and fears for the future.
At least one gunman opened fire on Bagram Air Base during the ceremony while a string of US, British and Australian embassies were closed and security was stepped up across Asia in a stark reminder of the momentous changes wrought by the attacks on the United States.
The shutters came down on US missions in Jakarta and Surabaya in Indonesia, Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Phnom Penh in Cambodia and all posts in Pakistan.
British embassies were shut in Jakarta, Phnom Penh, Singapore and Islamabad while Australia closed its missions in Singapore and East Timor's capital Dili.
The US' largest Asian embassy, in Bangkok, remained open but American diplomats and expatriates attending a high-security ceremony faced anti-US protesters.
At the ceremony Ambassador Darryl Johnson helped US military staff lay a wreath of roses and lilies as an officer played the bugle call Taps (The Last Post).
Commemorations in Asia began in New Zealand, Australia and outposts across the Pacific where sirens wailed, churchgoers prayed and businessmen and labourers found common cause in a moment of remembrance timed to coincide with the instant the first hijacked airliner slammed into Manhattan's World Trade Centre.
The distance from Ground Zero - so many time zones away - made little difference as Fijians, New Zealanders and Sydneysiders set down flowers and bowed their heads in silent tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost.
"This date has been forever etched into our memories," said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark during a ceremony to plant two trees - symbols of the Twin Towers - at the US embassy in Wellington. "It did not take long for the world to realise that these attacks were not just upon the United States, these were attacks against humanity," she said.
At 8:46 a.m. - the time in New York when the first airliner piloted by Islamic militants crashed into the World Trade Centre - choirs in Auckland and Wellington began singing Mozart's Requiem.
On Australia's eastern Gold Coast, more than 3,000 people wearing red, white and blue shirts gathered in the early morning sunshine to form a giant American flag on Surfers Paradise Beach.
"It's a message of support from Australia to the US," said Brett Ruxton, one of many firefighters who joined in the event.
Firefighters and other emergency workers were at the centre of many events to honour their US counterparts who died trying to save people inside New York's World Trade Centre.
Across Australia, flags flew at half mast, including atop Sydney's landmark Harbour Bridge, as church bells tolled and sirens sounded precisely at 8:46 a.m.
In Canberra, Prime Minister John Howard joined the US ambassador in a memorial church service at which participants lit candles for each of the 10 Australians killed on September 11th.
The New Zealand stock exchange delayed opening for two hours and its counterparts in Australia and Tokyo suspended operations for a minute in respect for the many finance workers who died.
Memorial ceremonies and services were held from Seoul and Singapore to Vietnam, China, the Philippines and Pakistan. Staff at the South Pole's Scott-Amundsen Base also held a service. - (AFP)