The tomb of Timur Abdali in Kabul was opened to the public

The mausoleum of Afghanistan’s second Abdali king, Timur Shah Abdali, has been inaugurated in an official ceremony in Kabul, and now every Afghan citizen can tour the historic building for 30 Pakistani Afghanis (about 60 Pakistani rupees).

The tomb of the former Afghan king is located near Kabul, next to a girls’ school called Aisha Durrani. This mausoleum was constructed with great effort by Afghan and foreign engineers and every part of it attracts the attention of the visitors to see how they made this place attractive.

The tomb of Timur Shah Abdali was built in 1815 in two parts. The roof of this mausoleum has a large dome, which makes the view of the mausoleum more beautiful. It is said that this dome is made of baked clay.

Political progress

Decades of war in Afghanistan and especially the civil war in the country have destroyed most of the historical monuments, cultural heritage and buildings. Among these destroyed monuments was the tomb of Timur Shah Abdali in Kabul. Parts of it had been destroyed which had become a haven for drug addicts.

After the establishment of a transitional government in Afghanistan under the leadership of former President Hamid Karzai, the government and foreign organizations tried to prevent the reconstruction and destruction of this historic site.

The reconstruction of the tomb of Timur Shah Abdali started in 2002 and was completed in 2009. Now it was prepared for the official inauguration.

“Unfortunately, the tomb of Timur Shah Abdali was badly affected in the civil war,” Abd al-Marif Hamidzai, director of the garden of the tomb of Timur Shah Abdali, told Independent Persian. The four walls of the tomb were completely destroyed. And this place had become a place for drug addicts to live.’

Some parts of it were built and rented out by people as private shops. The reconstruction of the site was officially started by the Aga Khan Cultural Foundation in 2002 and completed in 2009.

Hamidzai further said that ‘the part which suffered the most from the wars was the dome. I have another request to the citizens of my country to come and visit the historical places where famous people and emperors of Afghanistan are sleeping.’

When I asked Hamidzai if only Timur Shah Abdali was buried at this place, he said, ‘There are several graves in this area, some of which belong to the people of this region. A number of his relatives were buried with Timur Shah Abdali inside the tomb during the wars, but it is not yet clear how close they were to Timur Shah.’

Kabul resident Salim Hamidi, who visited the site for the first time, said, ‘We should preserve these places because they are associated with the identity and history of our land and nation. This place makes every visitor aware of the life and character of Timur Shah Abdali and know what he did for Afghanistan.

Timur Shah Abdali son of Ahmad Shah Abdali was the second Abdali king who ruled Afghanistan from 1773 to 1793 and during his reign he moved the capital of Afghanistan from Kandahar in the south of the country to Kabul.

It is said that when Timur first visited Kabul, he liked the climate of the province and hence moved the capital here. Since then, Kabul has been the capital of Afghanistan.

According to historians, Timur’s father Ahmad Shah Abdali was the founder of Abdali Sultanate in Afghanistan and was born in Multan. Ahmad’s father, Khan Zaman, came to Multan from Afghanistan with an army, where he married a local woman. Ahmad Shah Abdali was born from the womb of this woman.

Finally, Timur Shah Abdali was mysteriously murdered in Peshawar at the age of 49. His body was later moved to Kabul and buried at the site, known as Timur Shahi.

The son of Timur Shah Abdali built this mausoleum during his reign where his father was buried, which gradually took its present shape.