Chihil Sutun

Chihilsitoon (Persian: چهل‌ستون‎, meaning "Forty Columns"), also spelled Chehel Sutoon, Chelsutoon, Chihil Sutun or Chihilsutoon, is an area in southern Kabul, Afghanistan, part of District 7. It is named after the Chihilsitoon Palace, a garden and pavilion that was originally built at the same location by then-Emir Abdur Rahman Khan at the end of the 19th century. Historic maps also refer to both the palace and area as Hendaki.[1]

Chihilsitoon Palace
چهل‌ستون
Former namesHendaki
Alternative namesChihil Sutun
EtymologyForty Columns
General information
TypePalace
Town or cityKabul
CountryAfghanistan
Estimated completion1888

For the pavilion in Iran, see Chehel Sotoun

Front of the palace
Entrance and stairs leading to the palace
A plain looking towards Chihil Sutun from the Gardens of Babur in 1924

The palace's commemorative plaque was set in 1888. It was expanded with paved walkways and marble fountains by his successor Habibullah Khan. It had been used at times as a state guesthouse during the 20th century, notably being the visiting residence of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, and during the communist era, was used as a government media hub.[2] The site was heavily damaged by civil war and laid in ruins for years, before it was fully rebuilt and reopened in 2019.[3]

Chihilsitoon is located in the outskirts of the city's urban area, just east from the Kabul River that streams south towards Char Asiab. The Chihilsitoon Road links it towards central Kabul to the north and Darulaman to the west. Like other places of District 7, it is an unplanned area and generally poor.[4]

References
  1. electricpulp.com. "ČEHEL SOTŪN, KABUL – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org.
  2. "Chihil Sutun Palace - Archnet". archnet.org.
  3. "Kabul Gardens: Historic Afghan park restored to glory". Al Jazeera. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  4. Community Scorecard of Kabul Municipality 2016 Integrity Watch Afghanistan


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