Rebuilding the Old City

When Turquoise Mountain started working in the historic district of Murad Khani in Kabul, much of the area was buried under several metres of accumulated garbage. The area was named on the World Monuments Fund Watch List of the world's most endangered sites.

We started our regeneration work by clearing mountains of garbage, working with the community to lower the street level by up to two metres.

In places the garbage was so high that families were only able to live on the second floor of buildings. As we dug down, beautiful houses started to emerge from underneath.

This derelict structure had once been a beautiful nineteenth century courtyard dwelling.

This is the courtyard after its restoration. It now houses a library, workspaces for students, and the office of our cultural programmes.

This courtyard had once been decorated by beautifully carved cedar-wood panelling.

We used the restoration project to teach local builders and labourers the skills of architectural woodwork and mud-plastering.

This building was on the verge of collapse and needed propping up with large wooden beams.

Today this building houses the Turquoise Mountain Institute dormitory, where visiting students and teachers from outside Kabul come and stay.

This beautiful nineteenth century serai was a home for goats, banana boxes and electric cables.

It is now the home of the Turquoise Mountain Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture Calligraphy & Miniature Painting School. In 2013, its restoration won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Distinction.

During the 1990s this grand serai had become a storage area, as well as a place where rubber shoes were made out of tyres.

The serai is now the home of the Turquoise Mountain Institute Ceramics School, as well as an incubation space for young graduate craft businesses.