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.

Photos of Afghanistan before and after

1st photo, Kabul in 1970 
2nd photo, the same intersection in 1993 during the civil war. 

Taken in 1994

Kabul Traffic Photograph by John Moore/Getty Images
This 2006 photo of the old district in Kabul, Afghanistan, shows one of the effects of the influx of foreign capital following the expulsion of the Taliban. Thousands of people have bought cars with their newfound wealth, leading to hours-long traffic snarls on streets previously plied mainly by donkey carts and bicycles.

At top: Darul Aman palace in the 70's. 

At bottom: After the fall of the Taliban - notice the trees are all gone?

At top:  The Queen's palace in the 70's. 
At bottom:  After the fall of the Taliban.

(is this the Queen's palace or the museum?  Let me know if my caption needs correcting) 

Kabul (and other cities) used to have movie theaters that were popular to go to.  At bottom is a photo taken recently of what used to be a theater in Kabul.  Unfortunately the theater has turned into something negative, and respectable people no longer go to theaters.

Paghman Gardens used to be a nice and relaxing place to get out of the city and have a picnic. 

This top picture is actually a postcard showing what it looked like in the 70's.  The 2nd picture is an aerial view of Paghman- note the monument.  The 3rd photo shows all that remains of the monument in the gardens today after the Russians, Mujahideen, and Taliban were through using the area as a battleground.

I'm not sure what gardens these are.  The two women in this photo are tourists.   Notice how the trees are all gone.  You can see what 30 years of war does to this kind of place.  

This is looking toward downtown Kabul from the fort of Bala Hissar.  The first one was taken after the civil war and possibly during the Taliban regime - probably in the 90's.  The 2nd one was taken sometime after that, and the third was taken in the past 3 or 4 years.  If you look carefully you can see some of the houses in each picture. 

 

To see some Afghan fashion from the 60's-80's - click here. 

To see information about Afghanistan's mineral resources, and how you can purchase Afghan jewelry click here.

To see Kabul in the 80's click here.

Please click here to visit the Facebook page for the current Afghan Women's National Basketball Team. *please 'like' their page*