Showing 1-18 of 18 results
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Babur's Gardens
Laid out by the Mughal ruler Babur in the early 16th century, and the site of his tomb, Babur's Gardens are the loveliest spot in Kabul. At 11 hectares, they are also the largest public green space in the city. Left to ruins during the war, they have been spectacularly restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
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Bala Hissar & City Walls
The old seat of royal power, a fortress has stood on the site of the Bala Hissar since the 5th century AD, and quite possibly before. It sits at the foot of the Koh-e Shir Darwaza mountains, guarding the southwestern approaches to Kabul.
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Bibi Mahru Hill
Also called Teppe Bemaru, the low Bibi Mahru Hill overlooks Wazir Akbar Khan. It's popular with some expats living in the district for walking, and has reasonable views. At the top there's an Olympic-size swimming pool built by the Russians that's barely been full since it was built due to the difficulties of pumping water uphill. During the war the diving board was notorious as an execution spot.
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European Cemetery
The European Cemetery was built in 1879 by the British army for the dead of the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
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Ghazi Stadium
Kabul's main stadium hosts football matches most Friday afternoons. In the winter months and at Nauroz there are occasional buzkashi matches.
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Ka Faroshi Bird Market
Entering Kabul's Ka Faroshi Bird Market is like stepping back in time a hundred years, to a corner of the city untouched by war or modernisation. Also known as the Alley of Straw Sellers, it's a narrow lane tucked away behind the Pul-e Khishti Mosque, lined with stalls and booths selling birds by the dozen, plus the occasional rabbit.
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Kabul Museum
The Kabul Museum was once one of the greatest museums in the world. Its exhibits, ranging from Hellenistic gold coins to Buddhist statuary and Islamic bronzes, testified to Afghanistan's location as the crossroads of Asia. After years of abuse during the civil war, help from the international community and the peerless dedication of its staff means the museum is slowly rising from the ashes.
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Kabul Zoo
The Kabul Zoo is a popular place for Kabulis in need of recreation. Western animal lovers might find it more than a little depressing. Visitors are greeted by a bronze statue of Marjan the lion, the zoo's most celebrated animal.
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Mausoleum of Abdur Rahman Khan
The tomb of the 'Iron Amir' sits in Zarnegar Park. Originally a palace, the building has a bulbous red dome atop a whitewashed drum, and fussy decorative minarets. The park is surrounded by market traders but can be a good place to escape from the nearby bustle and traffic. The mausoleum itself is closed to visitors. On the opposite side of the park a huge new mosque was under construction when we visited, named for its private benefactor - confusingly called Haji Abdul Rahman (no relation to the amir).
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Mausoleum of Nadir Shah
King Nadir Shah was assassinated in 1933, the time-honoured way that most Afghan leaders meet their fate. His monumental tomb sits overlooking east Kabul at Teppe Maranjan. It has suffered considerably in war.
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Mausoleum of Timur Shah
Timur Shah was the first to make Kabul the capital of a unified kingdom. He died in 1793, but it was another 23 years before his mausoleum was built, possibly due to the chaos after his death, caused by his leaving over 20 sons and no nominated successor. The building is a copy of the Indian Mughal style, an octagonal brick structure surmounted by a plain brick drum and shallow dome.
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National Archive
Holding over 15,000 documents, the National Archive is housed in a palace built at the end of the 19th century by Abdur Rahman Khan for his son.
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National Gallery
The National Gallery contains a mix of historic pictures and paintings by modern Afghan artists. Like Kabul's other cultural institutions, it didn't escape the Taliban's zealous attentions, as the cabinet displaying ripped up watercolour portraits attests. Amazingly, however, the gallery's staff fought back as only artists could. Knowing the Taliban's juncture against images of living things, many of the exhibits were over-painted with watercolours, hiding a horse behind a tree, or turning a person into a mountain view. Over 120 paintings were saved this way when the zealots came with their knives.
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OMAR Land Mine Museum
This is a museum that only a country like Afghanistan could host. Run by the Organisation for Mine clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation (OMAR), it acts as a training and education centre for land mine and UXO clearance.
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Royal Palace Of Darulaman
The old Royal Palace Of Darulaman sits opposite the Kabul Museum. Built by Amanullah in the 1920s, in grand European style, the palace is now little more than an empty shell. Don't explore the palace too closely as there are still unexploded ordnances (UXOs) in the area. Between the two look out for the rusting steam train, more evidence of Amanullah's ill-fated experiment in modernity - only a few miles of track were ever laid.
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Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque
Called the 'Mosque of the King of Two Swords', the Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque on Kabul river must be one of the most unusual in Islam. Built in the 1920s during Amanullah's drive for modernisation, it looks like it would be more at home in Versailles or Vienna. The facades are all Italianate baroque with stucco detailing, picked out in white against a lurid lemon yellow paint-job. That it has two storeys is even more peculiar, and only the tiny minarets disclose the building's true purpose.
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Sultani Museum
The private Sultani Museum in the same grounds as the National Gallery is something of a curiosity. It was set up in 2004 by Ahmad Shah Sultani, a gold trader and sometime antiques dealer, who spent much of the civil war in exile in London. Here he collected a large collection of Afghan antiquities, aiming to preserve them for the country. Much of his collection is of looted or smuggled items, but those recognisably from the Kabul Museum have been returned. His collection has yet to be properly catalogued, but is thought to contain over 3000 pieces. Sultani's ultimate plan is to donate his collection to the state.
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Showing 1-18 of 18 results
