Last Updated on: 1 January 2004
In a context where much of the urban built heritage has been lost, Baghe Babur not only represents a site of major historic significance, but is also the largest walled public enclosure in Kabul, providing the urban population with a space for picnics, walking and swimming. Although originally conceived of in relation to the open plain to the southwest, where Babur and his entourage hunted, the garden is now almost entirely surrounded by residential and other development, for which it provides an important focus. Given the extent of war-related damage to homes and infrastructure, it is vital that an appropriate balance be found between historic conservation in the garden itself and improvements in the living conditions of residents of the wider neighbourhood. Since the spring of 2002, a process of research and documentation has helped to define an approach towards the rehabilitation of the garden and its environs, while allowing for the identification of priorities for immediate action. This has provided a framework for an initial range of activities undertaken during 2002/3 by the AKTC/HCSP team, in close collaboration with the Department of Historic Monuments and Institute of Archaeology of the Ministry of Information and Culture, and Kabul Municipality.