Darul Aman Palace (; ; 'Abode of Peace' or, in a double meaning, 'Abode of Aman llah) is a three-story

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 ...

located in Darulaman locality, about south-west of the center of

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 ...

. Surrounding the palace are the following buildings: the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, the National Museum of Afghanistan and the Afghan International University. The 150-room Darul Aman Palace was originally built in the 1920s, during the reign of

Amanullah Khan Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...

. He reigned as Emir of Afghanistan between February 1919 and June 1926, and as King of Afghanistan between June 1926 and January 1929. The palace was severely damaged during the 1990s

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 ...

. However, between 2016 and 2020, the palace was renovated and restored to its former glory. Most work was completed for the 100th anniversary of Afghan independence, which was on 19 August 2019. The site is open to the public and tourists.

History

Construction of the Darul Aman Palace began in the early 1920s as part of the endeavours of

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

to modernise Afghanistan. In June 1926, Amanullah proclaimed himself as King of Afghanistan. The palace was to be part of the new capital city called Darulaman, connected to Kabul by a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

. Amanullah Khan invited 22 architects from Germany and France to build the palace. The palace is considered to be a testimony of the Afghan-German ties, as it was designed by German engineer Walter Harten and his team of engineers. The palace is an imposing neoclassical building on a hilltop overlooking a flat, dusty valley in the western part of the Afghan capital. Designed by French architects A. Godard and M. Godard, as well as German architects, it was one of the first buildings in the country to get central heating and running water. The Swedish memoir writer Rora Asim Khan, who lived in Afghanistan with her Afghan husband in 1926–27, describe in her memoirs how she was invited to the palace by Queen Soraya to describe Western lifestyle and customs to the Queen and the King's motherRora Asim Khan (Aurora Nilsson): Anders Forsberg and Peter Hjukström: ''Flykten från harem'', Nykopia, Stockholm 1998. . Intended as the seat of a future parliament, the building remained unused and partially complete for many years after religious conservatives under Habibullah Kalakani forced King Amanullah from power in 1929, and halted his reforms. In later years it served as the medical school for Kabul University, as well a warehouse, and the seat of several smaller ministries. The building was gutted by fire on 14 December 1968, and was afterwards restored to house the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

during the 1970s and 1980s. In the Communist coup of 1978, the building was once more set on fire. Much of the building was damaged by tank fire during Shahnawaz Tanai's failed coup attempt on 6 March 1990. It was once again severely damaged during the 1990s Afghan Civil War, as rival

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

factions fought for control of Kabul. Heavy shelling by the Mujahideen left the palace a gutted ruin, including the garage containing the vehicles of the former King which were removed and used as target practice, all ultimately being destroyed. It was mostly used as a refugee settlement and a nomad camp until the early 2000s, when it became a battalion headquarters for the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

. After clashes in western Kabul between Kuchi refugees attempting to resettle on their ancestral lands and local Hazara residents in 2010 the government resettled Kuchis community in the ruins of Darul Aman, where they were forced to live in destitution for months. In 2005, a plan was unveiled to refurbish the palace for use as the seat of Afghanistan's future parliament. It was to be funded primarily by private donations from foreigners and wealthy Afghans. In April 2012, a number of government compounds around the palace were targeted for attacks by Taliban-led insurgent groups. Eventually it was decided to develop a new building opposite the palace to house the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

under a grant, provided by India. Construction was completed in 2015. In the Spring of 2016, work began on a 16 to 20 million

dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

restoration project, intended to renovate the palace in time for the centenary of Afghanistan's full independence in 1919. Nearly 600 tons of debris was initially removed from the 150-room building and by the spring of 2017, workers were taking down plaster and concrete from the inner walls. Over 80 engineers and architects were involved in the project, of which 25 percent were female. By July 2019, most of the major reconstruction work on the palace was completed. On 18 April 2020, an opening ceremony was held as the palace was used as a temporary COVID-19 isolation and treatment center with 200 beds during the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan.

Architecture

The palace is a U-shaped brick building, built in a European neoclassical style. It has 3 floors with 150 rooms, including a semi-circular main hall. Its highest point is around above ground level. There are four domed towers on the roof. The galleries on the third floor of the southern facade are decorated with a number of

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

. Each floor is connected by

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

spiral staircases.

Gallery: Darul Aman Palace before renovation

File:Afgan1986Kabul 40ArmyShtab.jpg, The palace in 1986 File:Darul-Aman Palace in 2002.jpg, 2002: The southern facade File:In-dural-2002.JPG, 2002: US commandos patrolling a heavily bombed out room File:View-from-dural-2002.JPG, 2002: Two US Special Forces soldiers view Kabul looking north File:Destroyed Darulaman palace.jpg, 2005 File:Darul aman palace kabul 2006-01.JPG, 2006: Northern elevation showing shelling damage inflicted during mujahideen fighting for Kabul after Soviet withdrawal File:Darul aman palace kabul 2006-02.JPG, 2006: Western elevation File:Darul Aman Place.png, 2007: After heavy snowfall File:Darul-Aman Palace 001.jpg, 2008: Facade File:Inside Darul amman 2010.jpg, July 2010: The interior was in very bad shape File:Parl-front.png, December 2015: View from the

Building with the palace under preliminary reconstruction File:Darul aman reconstrução.jpg, Darul Aman Palace reconstruction.

References

External links

* (May 26, 2024) * (Nov. 16, 2023) * (Sept. 30, 2022)
Darul-Aman Project for KabulThe story of the german ingenieur Wilhelm Rieck. Many historical pictures
{{Kabul Province Houses completed in the 20th century Palaces in Afghanistan Royal residences in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Kabul Ruined palaces Ruins in Afghanistan 1920s establishments in Afghanistan

History

Architecture

Gallery: Darul Aman Palace before renovation

See also

References

External links