Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

As the clock ticks to Tuesday’s deadline for American forces to leave Afghanistan, the arts and culture sector faces a sobering new reality. After the Americans leave, what will happen to Afghan artists and performers, cultural workers, and nongovernmental organization staffers engaged with heritage, traditional crafts and preservation? There are no answers, but their future depends not just on what the Taliban does, but how deeply civil society has taken root in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

Twenty years ago, the Taliban attached dynamite to two 6th-century Buddhas in the Bamiyan valley and famously blew the enormous statues to bits. The group’s reputation has since been synonymous with the destruction of cultural heritage, and many assume that their return to power will bring about a similar campaign of devastation.

But when the Taliban entered Kabul this month, they posted guards around the National Museum of Afghanistan, saving its antiquities from any feared looting. No vandalism or destruction of major heritage sites has yet been reported.

His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims; Charles M. Vest, President of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); and Lawrence H. Summers, President of Harvard University 13 years to this day, launched ArchNet

President Hosni Mubarak today discussed with His Highness the Aga Khan an integrated plan for development of Cairo's largest park, and innovative cultural restoration and economic revitalisation projects being undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in the capital's historic old city.

Hyderabad: The 16th Century Qutub Shahi Tombs are one of the main tourist attraction in the city. A heritage park is being added as a new chapter to this attraction.

The unique heritage park is likely to come up on 106 acres of land with the joint efforts of Aga Khan Foundation, Heritage Telangana and Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

A project is underway to preserve and restore 40 tombs, three mosques, seven wells, and other buildings. The first phase of this grand program of repair and renovation has been completed in 2018 and now the last phase of this program is underway.

Hyderabad: The 16th Century Qutub Shahi Tombs are one of the main tourist attraction in the city. A heritage park is being added as a new chapter to this attraction.

The unique heritage park is likely to come up on 106 acres of land with the joint efforts of Aga Khan Foundation, Heritage Telangana and Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

A project is underway to preserve and restore 40 tombs, three mosques, seven wells, and other buildings. The first phase of this grand program of repair and renovation has been completed in 2018 and now the last phase of this program is underway.

Hyderabad: A visitor to the historic Qutub Shahi Tombs will be mesmerized by its architectural beauty. The colourful enameled tiles were used in decorating the tombs.

Quli Qutub Shah bears intricate carvings. The enameled tiling of the tomb made it unique from the other tombs.

The Aga Khan Trust for culture CEO Ratish Nanda said, “Qutub Shahi Tombs are fine examples of Indo-Iranian architecture.”

From botany enthusiasts to social media influencers, everyone agrees Sunder Nursery is Delhi’s go-to spot to escape Covid blues.

Sunder Nursery is teeming these days.

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Delhi''s iconic Sunder Nursery, a 90-acre garden which was transformed into a horticultural paradise after a decade-long conservation work, is among the winners in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation this year.
Also, Koothambalam at Guruvayoor Temple in Kerala''s Thrissur has been chosen in the Award of Distinction category.

Rahim’s tomb, Delhi’s own monument of love built nearly 50 years before the iconic Taj Mahal, which stood in a ruinous condition with a “risk of collapse” has finally received a new lease of life after six-year-long “monumental conservation” work.

A multi-disciplinary team of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and support of a corporate conglomerate, worked extensively on the project which married traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.

(MENAFN - Wadsam) The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has committed to restore an ancient minaret in the city of Herat.

Presidential spokesperson Sediq Seddiqi said AKDN in a letter to President Ghani has vowed to help the Afghan government in restoration and protection of one of the five ancient minarets of Herat in Musallah complex that is on the verge of destruction.

India signed an MoU with Afghanistan in August for restoration of Bala Hissar fortress, pledging approximately $1 mn. Aga Khan Trust for Culture plans to compete project by 2022.

New Delhi: The restoration work of ancient fortress Bala Hissar in Afghanistan’s Kabul, which received financial aid from the Government of India in August, has started. The fortress is being converted into the country’s first archaeological park.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) Afghanistan, which is executing the project, plans to complete the work by 2022.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has recently restored the 12.5 hectare Chihilsitoon Garden in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Incorporating 10,200m2 of modernised or newly constructed rammed earth buildings, the project now provides high-quality facilities for visitors.

Once a 19th century royal garden that was transformed into a state property that welcomed visiting dignitaries in the 20th century, Chihilsitoon was looted during the Afghan Civil War of the early 1990s and left in a severely damaged state.

Hyderabad: Build a new hospital building and restore the old building is the demand of alumni of Osmania General Hospital who are to meet in the city for their 4th Global Meet. The demand for a new building has been pending since 2010.

The Osmania General Hospital building is as old as the Charminar and High Court. Restoration of the Charminar and High Court have been carried out by experts while OGH has been left out.

Kalapana 2019 will present the work of two partners – Aga Khan Trust for Culture undertaking the conservation of 10 monuments at the Qutb Shahi Tombs; and Film Heritage Foundation

‘Kalapana’ – a Tata Trusts platform to celebrate the arts, engender dialogue with stakeholders and showcase the works of the Trusts’ partners, returns with its third edition focusing on the theme of conservation, one of the focus areas of the Arts, Crafts and Culture portfolio.

By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Almost five years after its conservation, Neela Gumbad, the blue-tiled tomb in the 16th century mausoleum complex of Mughal emperor Humayun, is likely to be unveiled officially on Saturday.

According to officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel will inaugurate the ancient domed building on August 31 with two other projects — a new museum displaying retrieved and confiscated antiquities at Purana Quila and new-fangled illumination at Qutub Minar complex.

The 14th century baoli in the Kotla Feroz Shah complex is another example of a stepwell still in use. the decrepit well still waters the gardens.

Once important community spaces, stepwells from centuries ago needn’t just be relics of the past for tourists and history buffs but can be used to conserve water in these arid times, even with dipping groundwater levels, say conservationists and historians.

At a time when many areas in Delhi and multiple cities across the country are facing acute water shortage, Mughal Emperor Jahangir-built baoli at Arab Ki Sarai can become a harbinger of hope for water conservation. It is being revived with the twin purpose of heritage and water conservation.

Hyderabad: Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) which is working on the restoration of Qutb Shahi Tombs has now taken up the renovation of Paigah Tombs, also known as the Taj Mahal of the Deccan.

The nearly 150-year-old necropolis is located near Santosh Nagar.
Paigah Nawabs were next only to the Nizams in military, political and economic power who ruled Hyderabad State from 1724 to 1948.

Though Paigah Tombs are part of the historical and architectural heritage of Hyderabad they have been lying in a state of neglect for several decades.

LAHORE: The conservation of the western side of the world’s largest picture wall which is located at Lahore Fort has been completed by Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) in partnership Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), Pakistan Today has learnt.

It is pertinent to mention here that the conservation work was started in January 2018 in which experts from different countries of the world worked.