ULYA MADRASA, KABUL OLD CITY Following the completion of comprehensive restoration works, the Ulya madrasa was handed back in mid-March to representatives of the Shor Bazaar community in the Old city of Kabul.

KABUL UNIVERSITY As part of its ongoing teaching support, aimed at building Afghan technical capacity in conservation and planning, AKTC staff and consultants delivered two intensive Winter Courses at the architecture department of Kabul University.

NAWRUZ AT BAGH-E BABUR For many families from Kabul and surrounding provinces, Bagh-e Babur was once again the focus of celebrations during Nawruz, marking the beginning of the Persian year 1390.

MUSIC FESTIVAL IN MAZAR As in previous years, ten musicians of the Guldasta-e Kharabat orchestra of the Agha Khan Music Initiative (AKMI) participated in the 8th International Festival of Gul-e-Surkh in Mazar-e Sharif.

QALA IKHTYARUDDIN, HERAT With consolidation works nearing completion, AKTC has focused its conservation activities on stabilizing and protecting vulnerable areas of eroded pakhsa (compacted mud) walls, which support the base of the brick perimeter ramparts in the upper citadel.

FOLK MUSIC FROM HERAT & BADGHIS The Afghan Folk music documentation project continued in 2011, under the auspices of the Aga Khan Music Initiative (AKMI) and supported by the Governments of Norway and the US.