All about Darulaman Palace

Darul Aman Palace ("abode of peace" or, in a double meaning "abode of Aman[ullah]") is a European-style palace, now ruined, located about sixteen kilometers outside of the center of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Darul Aman Palace was built in the early 1920s as a part of the endeavours by King Amanullah Khan to modernize Afghanistan. It was to be part of the new capital city (also called Darul Aman or Darulaman) that the king was intending to build, connected to Kabul through a narrow-gauge railway. The palace is an imposing neoclassical building on a hilltop overlooking a flat, dusty valley in the western part of the Afghan capital. Intended as the seat for a future parliament outside of Kabul, the building was unused for many years after religious conservatives forced Amanullah from power and halted his reforms.

Darul Aman Palace was first gutted by fire in 1969. It was restored to house the Defence Ministry during the 1970s and 1980s. During the Communist coup of 1978, the building was set on fire. It was damaged again as rival Mujahideen factions fought for control of Kabul during the early 1990s. Heavy shelling by the Mujahideen after the end of the Soviet invasion left the building a gutted ruin.   -Wikipedia

The palace shortly after it was built in the 20's.  Look at all of the trees!

This is a photo of a train taken at Darulaman in 1930.  Three trains were purchased from Germany to be used between Darulaman, Kabul, and other locations within Afghanistan.

Here's a bird's eye view of what the palace looks like today.


I'm sorry about the picture quality of this photo, but you can see the outlines of what used to be gardens covering the whole property.

Inside the palace after the Soviets set it on fire, then it was bombed during all three wars, as well as having the Mujahideen and the Taliban trash it, etc:











There are plans in the works to rebuild the gardens and palace!  Click here to read more about it.