A formal Persian-style garden on a hillside in west Kabul, laid out by Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty, in the early sixteenth century, and the most peaceful corner of the city. The garden steps up the slope in fifteen terraces, with water channels running down the centre, an unadorned white-marble tomb at the highest level, and a small Mughal-era mosque built by Shah Jahan halfway up.
The garden was destroyed during the civil war of the 1990s and painstakingly rebuilt by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in the 2000s. The trees came back, the channels run again, and Kabuli families spread blankets here for picnics on Fridays. It is essential, and unusually for Kabul, it feels safe and calm.