“On an isolated hilltop, (Amanullah’s) palace stood
unfinished, left just as it had been when rebellion broke out; a solid,
handsome shell, its windows unglazed and open to the winds, forgotten fixtures
and unopened crates scattered about the silent rooms. It was still sturdy
despite the ravages of many winters, but the royal residence only of the birds
of the air who nested among the marble cornices and the butterflies that
waltzed about the carefully tended gardens. … the palace at Dar-al-Aman stood
like a monument to heartbreak.”
Rosanne Klass, “Land of the High Flags: Afghanistan When the
Going was Good,” 1964
Top: Inside the palace, New Year's Day, 2014 (Photo: Jim Chiavelli)
Bottom: Me, before being chased away by ANA, outside the palace, summer 2005. (Photo: Kathy Santini)
Hey, Chi, why did you get chased away from the exterior in '05 but by '14 you were able to get an interior pic? You better at skulking or has security fallen ?
ReplyDeleteAh. Gossip in the day was it was being used as an SF hole-up. This year, only Afghan guards, who suggested that they could use about $10 to fix their water supply ...
ReplyDelete