Stamp of Afghanistan - 1966 - Colnect 483153 - Bagh i Bala former Palace of Abdur Rahman Khan

The Bagh-e Bala Palace ( prs, قصر باغ بالا کابل) is a former royal palace in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) 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; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It is located at a hilltop in the Bagh-e Bala (''High Garden'') park near Karte Parwan. The palace has a large pool (added in the 1970s) and is surrounded by

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...

History

It was built by

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...

in 1893 as a place for him to spend summers in, and he later died there in 1901. It was then used as a castle under Emir

Habibullah Khan Habibullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 3 June 1872 – 20 February 1919) was the Emir of Afghanistan from 1901 until his death in 1919. He was the eldest son of the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, whom he succeeded by right of primogeniture in October 1901 ...

, and then as a guesthouse. In 1919 it housed the

National Museum of Afghanistan The National Museum of Afghanistan (Dari: موزیم ملی افغانستان, ''Mūzīyam-e mellī-ye Afghānestān''; ps, د افغانستان ملی موزیم, ''Də Afghānistān Millī Mūzīyəm''), also known as the Kabul Museum, is a ...

before the collection was moved elsewhere, and the palace became a military house under King Ghazi

Amanullah Khan Ghazi Amanullah Khan ( Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1 ...

. After being abandoned by 1930, it was renovated and turned into a restaurant under King

Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...

in the 1960s. The palace survived the civil war of the 1990s. It was renovated again in the 2000s and 2010s, with its interior preserved to look like the original 19th century design, but it is currently not in official use. The area around the palace (Bagh-e Bala) has become a large public park. American historians Nancy and Louis Dupree married here in 1966.''The Best American Magazine Writing 2015'' by The American Society of Magazine Editors

Gallery

Bagh-e-Bala1.jpg, Bagh-e Bala visible in the distance (2006) Palace of Bagh-e Bala Wellcome L0038126.jpg, Bagh-e Bala visible in the distance (1890s)

References

{{Kabul Province Palaces in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Kabul Province Royal residences in Afghanistan 1893 establishments in Afghanistan

History

Gallery

See also

References