By Turquoise Mountain
Kabul, Afghanistan
Peacock House
Located in the heart of Murad Khani, the Peacock House was built
between 120-150 years ago, placing it between the reigns of Dost Muhammad
Khan and Abdur Rahman Khan. The house was an elegant residence for
a wealthy Qizilbash courtier whose direct descendants continue to live
in the area.
A Long and Varied History
The building originally consisted of three wings, only one of which
survives today. A later addition was a female takiyyakhana (a Shia
place of worship), in which the women of Murad Khani used to hold
an annual Muharram procession in remembrance of Husayn Ibn Ali,
Muhammad’s grandson, who died at the Battle of Karbala. After two of
the wings collapsed, the owner vacated the house and began to rent it
out. Several families succeeded each other, until the house began to be
used as a sweet shop after the fall of the Taliban.
Peacock house before restoration (2006) by Turquoise MountainTurquoise Mountain
The Peacock House is constructed using mud brick on a wooden frame. Its distinctive cedar façade is decorated with a peacock motif, from which the house draws its name. Inside, fine mud plasterwork lines the walls, alongside more recent woodwork.
The Restoration
In the course of Turquoise Mountain’s year-long
restoration process, over 200 cubic metres of rubbish were cleared
from inside the house; mud plasterwork was exposed, repaired, and in
places redone; decorative elements of the façade were conserved or reconstructed; and full sections were lifted with
hydraulic jacks, while the stone foundation and damaged structural
timbers and brickwork were replaced.
Peacock house before restoration (2006) by Turquoise MountainTurquoise Mountain
Peacock house before restoration (2007) by Turquoise MountainTurquoise Mountain
