Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Afghanistan

 Canada

Egypt

India

Kyrgyz Republic

Mali

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Culture

Agriculture and food security

Historic cities

The Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) restored the Abu Nasr Shrine and Park in Balkh, Afghanistan.

The Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Gardens), Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2002, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) signed an agreement with the Interim Administration of Afghanistan to restore and rehabilitate a number of significant historic buildings and public open spaces in the city of Kabul. Since then, a range of conservation and urban regeneration efforts, living condition improvements, community development programmes and planning initiatives have been implemented in war-damaged neighbourhoods of the Old City of Kabul.

The Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Gardens), Kabul, Afghanistan. Since its restoration by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the AKDN, the Bagh-e Babur has attracted over 400,000 visitors annually.

The Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Gardens), restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the AKDN - Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Gardens), Kabul, Afghanistan. Now managed by an independent Trust, the restored 11-hectare garden not only re-establishes the historic character of the site with its water channels, planted terraces and pavilions, but also provides the population of Kabul with a space for recreation and cultural events.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the Government of Afghanistan and KfW are collaborating on the restoration of Kabul’s largest historic public gardens, the Chihilsitoon Gardens.

Rehabilitation of the Chihilsitoon Palace and Garden, Kabul, Afghanistan. The landscape of the site, which contains extensive vegetation including mature evergreen trees, continues to be used by the general public for basic recreational and sports activities and forms one of the most important public gardens in the city even in its dilapidated condition. AKTCs intervention funded by KfW, proposes to rehabilitate the garden and palace and to invest in upgrading improvements and training initiatives in the wider neighbourhood surrounding the garden in order to underpin the revitalization and long-term sustainability of the site and ensure an equitable distribution of resources through the upgrading of drainage, improvements in access and socio-economic training programmes that improve environmental conditions and livelihoods.

Concept Illustration of the Aga Khan Garden at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden, located 15 minutes southwest of Edmonton, Canada. The new garden will bloom in 2018.

Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. The creation of the 30-hectare (74-acre) Al-Azhar park, undertaken in the historic district of Cairo by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, has become a catalyst for urban renewal in one of the most congested cities in the world. With nearly two million visitors a year, the US$ 30 million Park - a gift from His Highness the Aga Khan to the city of Cairo - not only generates enough funds for its own maintenance (through gate and restaurant receipts), but has proven to be a powerful catalyst for urban renewal in the neighbouring district of Darb al-Ahmar.

Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. The project includes the excavation and extensive restoration of the 12th Century Ayyubid wall and the rehabilitation of important monuments and landmark buildings in the Historic City. It also encompasses an extensive social development programme, including apprenticeship arrangements, housing rehabilitation, micro-credit and health care facilities.

Al-Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt. With nearly two million visitors a year, the US$ 30 million Park - a gift from His Highness the Aga Khan to the city of Cairo - not only generates enough funds for its own maintenance (through gate and restaurant receipts), but has proven to be a powerful catalyst for urban renewal in the neighbouring district of Darb al-Ahmar.

Isa Khan Tomb Restoration, Delhi, India - Aerial view over the tomb with Humayun&#39;s Tomb in the background. Cultural activities in India are undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). The largest cultural project to date has been the restoration and revitalisation of the Garden&#39;s of Humayun&#39;s Tomb, which has since expanded to the neighbouring Nizamuddin area, to Sundar Nursery and the restoration of a number of monuments in the historic district.

The Isa Khan Tomb stands at the western end of the Humayun’s Tomb complex, almost at the centre of the Humayun’s Tomb – Sunder Nursery – Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Project area. 
An exhaustive condition assessment, measured drawing, archival research and detailed on-site discussions with experts in 2010 have led to the preparation of a Conservation plan for this significant entrance zone to the World Heritage Site. Conservation works undertaken with support from the World Monuments Fund, include the restoration of the 16th century landscape of the Isa Khan’s Tomb enclosure, which commenced with the manual removal of thousands of truckloads of earth to restore this earliest known ‘sunken garden’.

The Humayun&rsquo;s Tomb - Sundar Nursery - Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, in the heart of Delhi, India, combines a cultural heritage project with socioeconomic initiatives. The overall objective of the project, undertaken by the the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the AKDN, is to improve the quality of life for people in the area while creating an important new green space for the people of Delhi and beyond.

Sundar Nursery&rsquo;s Central Axis with the 16th century Sundar Burj in the backdrop, New Delhi, India.

In Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic, as part of AKDN’s broader commitment to the Naryn area, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture rehabilitated the Seitaaly Jakypov Park, creating space for leisure, play and exercise.

Bamako - The National Park of Mali. The population of Bamako, the capital of the Republic of Mali, has risen rapidly in recent years to over one million inhabitants, creating new demand for housing and public facilities. In this context, the need for far-sighted urban planning was crucial. The Government’s response was to define the outlines of the National Park of Mali, a space of 103 hectares within a larger protected forest reserve of 2,100 hectares, which forms a significant greenbelt in this mainly arid country.

Bamako - The National Park of Mali. Under the terms of the public-private partnership, the Government asked AKTC, an agency of the AKDN, to concentrate on the Park’s 103 hectares, a large, semi-circular canyon of protected forest that lies beneath the terraced outcrops of the Koulouba plateau, between the National Museum and the Presidential Palace Complex.

Khorog park, Tajikistan. The town of Khorog, capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region in Tajikistan, is situated 2,100 metres above sea level in the heart of the Pamir Mountains near the border with Afghanistan. Its dedicated recreational areas are few, but vital to the lives of the inhabitants as spaces to socialise and places to play. The land for Khorog Park was gifted to His Highness the Aga Khan on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of his Imamat, and, since 2003, it has been the focus of a rehabilitation project designed to offer visitors the possibility to reflect, relax and enjoy nature.

The pool at Khorog City Park, Tajikistan. The development of Khorog Park contributes a significant public green space and has become an integral part of the circulation through the city. Its revival represents a substantial step towards the revitalisation of Khorog as a whole.

In Tanzania, the Forodhani Park’s restoration, completed in 2009, was undertaken by AKTC in cooperation with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar as part of a comprehensive programme for seafront rehabilitation in Stone Town. By restoring the city’s major urban open space it has improved the quality of civic life for Zanzibaris.