Saturday, December 10, 2016
Kabul (BNA) President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Thursday, inaugurated the second phase of the Darul Aman reconstruction project, said his office in a statement.
According to the statement, the first phase of the reconstruction project of the war-destroyed ancient palace has been successfully completed, a success could pave the way for the second round. The president was quoted in the statement as saying renovation of the palace was a matter of great importance, considering its historical perspective, and that the royal palace, after completion of all reconstruction projects, would be arranged as guest house for high-ranking officials and visitors and within it, a national museum would be lodged as well. Some hundreds architects, 25 per cent of them female are engaged in the reconstruction project of the palace, which demonstrates the revival of part of the country’s history, said the president to reporters after his speech in the inauguration ceremony. “Eidgah Mosque in Kabul, Masjid-e-Kalan in Herat and another great masjid in northern province of Mazar-e-Sharif,” the statement quoted. “Both Eidgah Masque and this palace [Darul Aman Palace] enjoy historical importance, with the latter had been built by the Afghanistan National Hero King Amanullah Ghazi who, he said announced the country’s independence.” “Afghanistan, with 4000 historical background, can have wide number of heroes, with Amanullah Khan Ghazi securing special position, so both Darul Aman and Eidgah should be rebuilt,” President Ghani reiterated. He believed an outlay would help reconstruct and renovate the country’s entire historical sites, in order to have tourists drawn from foreign countries. The president emphasized for the need to teach traditional architecture to the university students as he said no nation believed alive unless its culture survives, advising that the next generation should keep connected the past to could be able to experience and touch the past historical honors. Some $970,000 has been saved, after the Afghan authorities took responsibly of the reconstruction projects, while a foreign company estimated the cost to rise to at least $1mililon to complete the project. According to some sources, Darul Aman Palace was built in the early 1920s as part of the endeavors of King Amanullah Khan to modernize the country, but it gutted and heavily destroyed in 1990s, when rival Mujahideen factions fought to control the capital Kabul.
