Murad Khani or Murad Khane () is a small historical neighborhood in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Afghanistan. The neighborhood is part of the city's District 2, situated north of the

Kabul River The Kabul River (; ), the classical Cophen , is a river that emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It is separated from the watershed of the Helmand River by th ...

between

Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB, ; ) is the central bank of Afghanistan. It regulates all banking and monetary transactions in Afghanistan. Established in 1939, the bank is wholly government-owned. It is active in developing policies to promote financial inclusion and a ...

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

Eidgah Mosque Eidgah or Idgah, also Eid Gah or Id Gah ( "site of Eid bservances; ; ; ; ) is a term used in Islam in South Asia, South Asian Islamic culture for the open-air enclosure usually outside the city (or at the outskirts) reserved for Eid prayers ...

, Pul-e Khishti Mosque and

Kabul Serena Hotel The Kabul Grand Hotel (formerly the Kabul Serena Hotel) is a luxury hotel in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. It is located between Wazir Akbar Khan and Deh Afghanan neighborhoods, near the Arg and next to Zarnegar Park. History The property was b ...

. The

Abul Fazl Shrine Abul Fazl Shrine (Pashto/) is a shrine and mosque, located in Murad Khane, Kabul, Afghanistan. The facility was hit with a massive blast on 21 February 2023. There were no casualties. See also * 2011 Afghanistan Ashura bombings * List of mosqu ...

is in this neighborhood.

History

Murad Khane was named after two Murad Khans: one the brother of a 17th-century Mughal governor and the second an 18th-century general. The area was developed in the 18th century by

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

, the founder of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

. As part of this development, many ornate structures were constructed to serve as housing for members of the

Qizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash (Latin script: ) ; ; (modern Iranian reading: ); were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman "The Qizilbash, composed mainly of Turkman tribesmen, were the military force introduced by the conquering Safavis to the Irani ...

tribe. The district was laid out in a traditional Islamic pattern, around a mosque, bath-house, garden and bazaar.

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

modernization efforts in 1975, neglect and civil war, threatened and destroyed many buildings in the area. Despite these threats, "Murad Khane retains much of its original fabric with a network of small streets connecting the bazaar, religious structures, caravanserai and houses in a layout that represents the area's unique ties to Islamic design and nearly four hundred years of Afghan history." It is one of the few surviving historic commercial and residential neighbourhoods in Kabul.

Conservation

In 2006, the

Turquoise Mountain Foundation The Turquoise Mountain Foundation is a non-governmental organization legally established in Scotland. It takes its name from Turquoise Mountain and initially focused on the enhancement of the Afghanistan craft industry.Felicia CraddockIn Afghanis ...

began restoration work in Murad Khane, headed by

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, broadcaster, writer, and former diplomat and politician. He has taught at Harvard University and at Yale University. He currently teaches and co-directs the Brady-Jo ...

. By then, it had become one of the poorest areas in Kabul and in 2008 it was added to the World Monuments Fund's Watch List of the world's most endangered sites. Turquoise Mountain began to clear out the garbage that had accumulated over the years and set to work restoring the historic houses. Turquoise Mountain has now restored or rebuilt 150 damaged homes, documented built and intangible cultural heritage, opened the Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture to train young people in traditional crafts, opened a Primary School and Family Health Clinic for the local residents, and hosted thousands of visitors to the revived neighbourhood. Turquoise Mountain's work in Murad Khane was shown as part of an exhibit, ''Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan'', at Washington, D.C.’s

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery is an art museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., focusing on Culture of Asia, Asian art. The Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art together form the National Museum of Asian Art in the Uni ...

References

{{coord, 34, 31, 05, N, 69, 10, 55, E, display=title, region:AF_type:city Neighborhoods of Kabul