Murad Khane is a district of the old city in Kabul

Kabul

Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. It lies near the Kabul River

Kabul River

Kabul River , the classical Cophes , is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass...

History

The origins of the city lie in its development in the 18th century by Ahmad Shah Durrani

Ahmad Shah Durrani

Ahmad Shah Durrani , also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī and born as Ahmad Khān, was the founder of the Durrani Empire in 1747 and is regarded by many to be the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan.Ahmad Khan enlisted as a young soldier in the military of the Afsharid kingdom and quickly rose...

, the founder of the Durrani Empire

Durrani Empire

The Durrani Empire was a Pashtun dynasty centered in Afghanistan and included northeastern Iran, the Kashmir region, the modern state of Pakistan, and northwestern India. It was established at Kandahar in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, an Afghan military commander under Nader Shah of Persia and chief...

.
As a result of decades of conflict in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, Murad Khane was inundated with massive amounts of garabage. As part of this development, many ornate structures were constructed to serve as housing for members of the Qizilbash tribe. The 1920's saw the construction of buildings with elaborately carved wood. Soviet modernization efforts in 1975, neglect and civil war have threatened and destroyed many buildings in the area.

Threats

The area has been in decline as a result of weather, war, neglect, and unsustainble development. Despite these threats, "Murad Khane retains much of its original fabric with a network of small streets connecting the bazaar, religious structures, caravanserai and houses in a layout that represents the area's unique ties to Islamic design and nearly four hundred years of Afghan history."

Conservation

The total cost of complete preservation and maintenance for Murad Khane is estimated at $4.9 million.

In 2006, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation

Turquoise Mountain Foundation

Turquoise Mountain Foundation is a non-governmental organization operating in Afghanistan, legally established in Scotland as a component charity of The Prince's Charities...

 began restoration work within Murad Khane, headed by Rory Stewart

Rory Stewart

Roderick 'Rory' James Nugent Stewart OBE FRSL MP DUniv is a British academic, author, and Conservative politician. Since May 2010, he has been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border, in the county of Cumbria, North West England.- Overview :Stewart was a senior coalition official in a...

. As of 2008, the organization had already removed 10,500 cubic yards of garbage and have provided 50 damaged homes with restoration and repair work. Reconstruction work has focused on traditional Afghan techniques, including training local people in the traditional styles of woodwork, calligraphy, pottery and jewelry making.