Kabul is a chaotic city… from construction to the traffic to the occasional bombing.

But in the heart of the city is peace and tranquility: A garden with trees and flowers and green, green grass.

AJMAL MAIWANDI: It’s probably one of the most tranquil places in the city if not the most tranquil space in the city.

The Baghe Babur Garden was built in the 16th century but fell into disrepair over the years. The Swiss-based Aga Khan’s Trust for Culture gave 7 million U.S. dollars to rebuild it. (WRS, Alex Helmick)

Ajmal Maiwandi is deputy program manager for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Headquarters for the Shia Ismaili Muslim spiritual leader the Aga Khan and his many charities is in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Trust for Culture spent nearly 7 million U.S. dollars restoring a once sacred place in Kabul.

The first Mughal emperor Baghe Babur built the 11 hectare garden in the 16^th century.

MAIWANDI: He laid out this garden with his own hands and before he died he stipulated that he would want to be buried here.

Babur was a brutal and violent conqueror though.

HELMICK: I find it kind of ironic that such a peaceful place is built on a man who really wasn’t that peaceful.
MAIWANDI: It’s true. Babur’s memoirs are filled with his conquests and his pillaging and military campaigns. But it seems that at that time, at that era, that was what was expected of a king.

“It’s probably one of the most tranquil spaces in the city, if not the most tranquil space in the city.”

After the Mughal empire fell, the garden went with it. The garden had a brief revival in the mid 20^th century, but then war once again came to Afghanistan: First the Soviets in the late 70s, then Civil War in the 90s, and then the Taliban years. The garden was a front line for battles, especially ethnic clashes. The trees were chopped down for fire wood and the land was baron.

HELMICK: This was a war zone
AMANULLAH SAHIBZADA: This was a war zone, yes.

Amanullah Sahibzada was part of the reconstruction started in 2002 after the end of Taliban rule here. He now is garden manager.

SAHIBZADA: First of all, I think of it as my home because it has been almost seven years that I spend more time than my home here.

Sahibzada worked with many others to get the garden back into shape. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture says the rebuilding of the garden put hundreds to work and still employs 75 people regularly.

But for Sahibzada it is more than just about numbers.

A little girl has a close call with a passing van on one of Kabul’s busiest and chaotic streets. (WRS, Alex Helmick)

SAHIBZADA: So for me each stone, each tree, each flower has a memory because I was in the garden during the time when these stones and these trees were planted or the stone was placed. So I know when I look at all these things, I remember the first day to how this tree was and by who it was planted in the area.

GARDENER VOICE

Nearby, one of the workers is giving a tour to young school girls. Aurjura is their head teacher.

AURJURA VOICE

She says the children need to know the history behind Babur. It is part of their culture. And for her, she says this is a nice escape from war outside the garden walls.

Sitting on one of the smaller brick walls, looking far away in thought is Zanamilack. He is a young man with a tidy beard and he’s wearing ultra-clean, cream-colored trousers and matching shirt. 

ZANAMILACK VOICE

He says he thinks this is a great place to mediate and that maybe one day this country, his country, could reflect this garden and be peaceful.

Alex Helmick, World Radio Switzerland from the Baghe Babur Garden in Kabul, Afghanistan.