Murad Khani
Our Work in Murad Khani
Turquoise Mountain is working to restore the Old City of Kabul, Murad Khani, and to revive its historic craft traditions through training young people and supporting artisan businesses.
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Join us on a virtual trip to Afghanistan and learn more about its fascinating culture and the inspiring stories of its people. The app was originally created for the Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan exhibition at the Freer|Sackler in Washington, D.C.
How To Donate
Turquoise Mountain was established to revive historic areas and traditional crafts, to provide jobs, skills and a renewed sense of national pride. With your donation we can continue our work worldwide.
Turquoise Mountain is regenerating Murad Khani, reviving Afghan traditional arts and architecture, and creating jobs for Afghan men and women
Founded in Afghanistan in March 2006 by HRH The Prince of Wales, Turquoise Mountain began by focusing on the regeneration of the Old City of Kabul and the sustainable development of the Afghan crafts industry. Since then, we have trained 6,000 artisans, restored or rebuilt 150 historic or community buildings in the old city of Kabul, set up a local primary school and family health clinic
and organised major international exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the Smithsonian Museum, the World Economic Forum at Davos, and Buckingham Palace. Turquoise Mountain has also worked with prestigious international retailers from Bloomingdales and Kate Spade in New York, to Pippa Small and Asprey in London.
Built Heritage
Restoring Kabul's old city
Murad Khani is one of the few surviving historic commercial and residential areas in the old city of Kabul. Badly destroyed during fighting in the Afghan civil war, and left buried under nearly two metres of accumulated rubbish, Murad Khani was named on the World Monuments Fund's Watch List of the world's most endangered sites in 2008. Today, Turquoise Mountain has regenerated the area by restoring the community's historic buildings and breathing new life into the area.
Find out more about our built heritage regeneration projects
Community
Providing essential services to the people of Murad Khani
By 2006, Murad Khani had become one of the poorest areas in Kabul, and many young people had no access to basic education and healthcare. Turquoise Mountain established a health centre for the community and a school for its young people, and today has served over 136,000 patients and teaches over 120 students per year.
Training
Teaching the next generation of craftspeople
The Turquoise Mountain Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture aims to educate a new generation in Afghanistan's traditional crafts. Honing their skills in woodwork, calligraphy, ceramics, jewellery, painting and more over three years of intensive training, successful artisans graduate with an internationally accredited qualification, and the support and knowledge they need to set up their own craft businesses.
Artisans
Supporting independent artisan businesses
Turquoise Mountain is supporting over 50 artisan businesses with workshop space, tools, materials, and business, marketing and sales support. Many of our supported artisans are graduates of the Turquoise Mountain Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture, and many are graduates of the short courses we offer in product development, leadership and other business skills.
Products
Creating unique handmade pieces of art
Turquoise Mountain supports Afghan craftswomen and men to create handmade jewellery, woodwork, ceramics, paintings and more. These products have sold all over the world, bringing in a total of $15.5 million to date for our supported artisans.