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Darul
Aman
Palace (Persian: قصر
دارالامان; Pashto: د
دارالامان
ماڼۍ;
"abode
of
peace"
or,
in
a
double
meaning
"abode
of
Aman[ullah]")[1] is
a
palace
located
about
16
kilometres
(9.9 mi)
south-west
outside
of
the
center
of Kabul, Afghanistan.
It
sits
directly
across
from
the Afghan
Parliament,
and
is
close
to
the National
Museum
of
Afghanistan and
the American
University
of
Afghanistan.
In
2019,
the
palace
was
fully
renovated
for
the
100th
year
of
Afghan
Independence,
which
was
on
the
19th
of
August,
2019
Construction
of
the
Darul
Aman
Palace
began
in
the
early
1920s
as
a
part
of
the
endeavours
of
King Amanullah
Khan to
modernize
Afghanistan.
It
was
to
be
part
of
the
new
capital
city
called Darulaman,
connected
to
Kabul
by
a narrow
gauge
railway.[4] 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.[5]
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
and
German
architects,
it
was
one
of
the
first
buildings
in
the
country
to
get
central
heating
and
running
water.[3] 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
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.[3]
The
building
was
gutted
by
fire
on
December
14,
1968,
and
afterwards
restored
to
house
the Ministry
of
Defense 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
March
6,
1990.[6] It
was
once
again
damaged
in
the
1990s
as
rival Mujahideen 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.[3]
In
2005,
a
plan
was
unveiled
to
refurbish
the
palace
for
use
as
the
seat
of
Afghanistan's
future
parliament.[7] It
was
to
be
funded
primarily
by
private
donations
from
foreigners
and
wealthy
Afghans.
The
palace
one
of
several
targets
in
a
series
of
attacks
launched
on
April
15,
2012,
for
which
the Taliban claimed
responsibility.[8] Eventually
it
was
decided
to
develop
a
new
building
opposite
the
palace
to
house
the parliament under
a
grant,
provided
by
India.
Construction
was
completed
in
2015.
In
early
2016
work
began
on
a
$20
million
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.[3] Over
80
engineers
and
architects
were
involved
in
the
project,
of
which
25
percent
were
female.
It
was
announced
in
February
2018,
that
almost
50
percent
of
the
renovation
was
complete
and
then
was
completed
in
full
by
July
2019.
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