Focus
The Turquoise Mountain Foundation becomes The Prince's 18th charity
26th March 2007
The Turquoise Mountain Foundation was founded in 2006 by HRH The Prince of Wales and H. E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, to help preserve some of Afghanistan’s rich architectural and cultural heritage for future generations.
Since the fall of the Taliban, many of Afghanistan’s traditional Islamic cities are faced with a huge growth in property development, sometimes at the expense of historic but poorer areas.
The traditional Islamic Cities of Kabul, Herat, Ghazni and Balkh, inhabited for thousands of years, have fascinating layers of Persian, Hellenic, Central Asian and Islamic architecture and it is this history that may be one of the country’s greatest assets in years to come if it is not lost.
The Turquoise Mountain Foundation aims to conserve and restore a section of medieval Kabul in recognition of the vital role that Afghanistan's rich architectural heritage is likely to play in laying the foundations for future tourism.
Maintaining traditional architecture and skills
At the heart of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation is the creation of Afghanistan's first centre for Traditional Arts and Architecture in Murad Khani, one of the oldest parts of Kabul.
The school will teach traditional building skills such as tile-work, incised and lattice wood-work, masonry, plasterwork, calligraphy and ceramics while developing sustainable markets for Afghan crafts.
The preservation of these skills will enable the authentic restoration and ongoing maintenance of the valuable architecture in Murad Khane, which will, in turn create much-needed employment.
In June 2006, HRH The Prince of Wales said: “Turquoise Mountain was the greatest indigenous Afghan capital of the middle ages, destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1216 and lost to history. I hope that this Turquoise Mountain will help to breathe new life into Afghanistan’s unique and incomparable art and architecture for this and future generations.
“In my view, a crucial part of the project will be to enable young Afghans to see these skills as living traditions and not merely as something to be consigned to museums and history books.
“Through the work of my School for Traditional Arts in London, I have seen what an inspiration it can be for young Muslims to have the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of, and pride in, this aspect of their great Islamic heritage.”
President Karzai said: “I warmly welcome the Feroz-koh (Turquoise Mountain) initiative which will contribute to the preservation and further development of Afghanistan’s rich cultural heritage.
The future
Eventually, Turquoise Mountain aims to run short courses for Afghan undergraduates, architects, designers and engineers to encourage the use of traditional arts and designs.
The school’s trainees will not only work with historical restoration projects and museum conservation; they will also be encouraged to develop links with construction companies and commercial trading and export houses.
In this way, heritage will be combined with vocational training, training with academic instruction and both with private sector development and tourism.
Click here to visit the Turquoise Mountain Foundation website and here to view the gallery.