Chihil Sutun (, meaning "Forty Columns"), also spelled Chehel Sutoon, Chelsutoon, Chehelseton or Chihilsitoon, is a historic

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

with

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

located about east of Darulaman 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 Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. It was built in 1796 by

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Zaman Shah Durrani. The palace and neighborhood are part of District 7 of the city.

History

Chihil Sutun was developed in the late 18th century by Zaman Shah, one of rulers 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 ...

. The current palace and

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

were originally built at the same location by then-Emir Abdur Rahman Khan at the end of the 19th century. Historic maps also refer to both the palace and area as ''Hendaki''. The palace's commemorative plaque was set in 1888. It was expanded with paved walkways and marble fountains by his successor Habibullah Khan. It had been used at times as a state guesthouse during the 20th century, notably being the visiting residence of U.S. President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

and Soviet leader

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, and during the communist era, was used as a government media hub. The site was heavily damaged by

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and laid in ruins for years, before it was fully rebuilt and reopened in 2019. Chihilsitoon is located on the outskirts of the city's urban area, just east from 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 ...

that streams south towards Char Asiab. The Chihilsitoon Road links it towards central Kabul to the north and Darulaman to the west. Like other places of District 7, it is an unplanned area and generally poor.Community Scorecard of Kabul Municipality 2016
Integrity Watch Afghanistan

References

Gallery

File:Entrance and stairs leading to the Hendaki Palace Wellcome L0025003.jpg, Entrance and stairs leading to the palace File:Plain towards Chihil Sutun, south of Kabul (1924) (NO-NB BLDSA GM2a307n).jpg, A plain looking towards Chihil Sutun from the

in 1924 File:War damaged Chilsetoon Palace, Kabul.png, War damaged Chihil Sutun palace in the mid 1990s

External links

* (May 11, 2024) * (Apr. 16, 2023) {{Kabul Province Neighborhoods of Kabul Palaces in Afghanistan Royal residences in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Afghanistan Gardens in Afghanistan

History

See also

References

Gallery

External links