By The Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Herat, Afghanistan
Arabzada, Old City (2009) by AKTC / Christian RichtersThe Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Since 2002, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has led efforts to protect and preserve Afghanistan’s cultural heritage, develop local capacity, and help improve the quality of life for users and communities linked to these sites.
One of AKTC’s most ambitious projects is being carried out in Herat, where economic growth and an exponential increase in the population has overwhelmed local institutions resulting in wide-spread unregulated development that threatens to erase the city’s historic quarters, archaeology, and monuments and, along with it, all traces of more than 2500 years of history.
Working together with communities, professionals and institutions committed to protecting cultural heritage in Herat, AKTC has made significant progress has been made over the past two decades in demonstrating the positive social, cultural and economic impact associated with long-term conservation and upgrading.
Chaharsuq complex, Old City, Herat (2009) by AKTC / Christian RichtersThe Aga Khan Trust for Culture
In 2004, the government of Afghanistan placed Herat on the Tentative List for World Heritage listing that it submitted to UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) wishes to express its appreciation, first and foremost, to its staff and consultants for their tireless efforts and commitment towards preserving Afghanistan’s rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
In addition to resources provided directly by AKTC, the restoration of heritage sites shown in this exhibition were supported through financial contributions made by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Government of the United States and its Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.
This online exhibition was made possible through the efforts of Theresa zu Leiningen, Mohammad Baqir Yaqubi and Dr. Arash Boostani.
