During the 2nd Anglo- Afghan war, the British forces destroyed the only place of the then kingdoms Bala-Hisar along with a number of historical places in Kabul. Therefore, in 1880, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan designated an area known as “Bagh e Pahlawan Mohammad Noor” located in the northeast of Deh Afghanan of Kabul for planning and building a new castle called Arg.
He did instruct his eldest son, Habibullah, to take charge of it, so the Arg ‘the palace’ is located in the middle of two water streams of the Kabul River and in a flat area to the northwest of Murad Khani, and its first internal building was named Koti Baghcha, which was completed in 1887.
After settling in Kabul and strengthening his position, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan called engineers and architects from Kandahar and Kabul and asked them to start the construction work on a new royal citadel near Shirpur.
He, therefore, allocated two hundred acres of land in the respective area and asked the tasked architects and engineers to use all the means to build a strong castle known as Arg e Shahi in the middle of Pahlawan Mohammad Noor garden.
The architects and engineers finally completed construction of the Arg, which was developed and fully completed in very periods in 30 years.
While it was under construction, the Amir took up temporary residence in the Koti Baghcha (House of the Little Garden) built in 1884 in the south-west corner of the Arg complex. This two-storied house was surrounded by a garden full of roses on all four sides.
Protecting eaves resting on high cast-iron arches were striking. The central octagonal hall extended the height of the two stories, with balconies on the second floor overlooking four small 12-foot square alcoves, in one of which the Amir met visitors seated on a couch.
All were furnished in western style, including a German piano. The entire surface of the interior, from floor to the domed ceiling, was richly painted with birds in flowering bushes and other floral motifs. It is not clear when this was done, but in subsequent years Koti Baghcha was used for various purposes such as the Ministry of Public works. Modern residential additions were also added on the south. An Afghan architect spent five years from 2007 onward on its meticulous renovation, including the paintings. Souvenir postcard printed in Paris during the 1920s.
Saida Ahmadi
Koti Baghcha; a historical & cultural site in capital Kabul
