Sultani Museum

Kabul


This private museum in the same grounds as the National Gallery is something of a curiosity. It was set up in 2004 by Ahmad Shah Sultani, a gold trader and sometime antiques dealer, who spent much of the civil war in exile in London. Here he collected a large collection of Afghan antiquities, aiming to preserve them for the country. Much of his collection is of looted or smuggled items, but those recognisably from the Kabul Museum have been returned. His collection has yet to be properly catalogued, but is thought to contain over 3000 pieces. Sultani’s ultimate plan is to donate his collection to the state. The museum is heavily locked, and on issuing your ticket the chowkidar (caretaker) goes through the laborious process of disabling the security alarms. The first room is full of Islamic-era manuscripts and some beautiful Qurans in just about every conceivable calligraphic script. The following rooms are a treasure-trove of Afghan history, with artefacts from all periods jostling for space on the crowded shelves. Wooden stamps for stuccowork in mosques sit next to a delicate and stunning gold coronet, possibly of Kushan origin. There’s a large display of coins – Graeco-Bactrian, Kushan, Sodgian and even Roman. Opposite are rare examples of Ghaznavid and Ghorid pottery, nearly 1000 years old, and Nuristani wood carvings. Poor labelling lets the exhibition down, often leaving you wondering exactly what you’re looking at, and thirsting for more information (the ‘cookie mud’ from which many finds seem to have been dug remains a mystery). It’s frustrating, but an oddly appropriate metaphor for the troubled state of Afghanistan’s heritage.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Kabul attractions

1. National Gallery

0.01 MILES

The National Gallery contains a mix of historic pictures and paintings by modern Afghan artists. Like Kabul’s other cultural institutions, it didn’t…

2. Mausoleum of Timur Shah

0.19 MILES

Timur Shah was the first to make Kabul the capital of a unified kingdom. He died in 1793, but it was another 23 years before his mausoleum was built,…

3. Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque

0.21 MILES

Called the 'Mosque of the King of Two Swords', the Shah-e Doh Shamshira Mosque on Kabul river must be one of the most unusual in Islam. Built in the 1920s…

4. Mausoleum of Abdur Rahman Khan

0.26 MILES

The tomb of the 'Iron Amir' sits in Zarnegar Park. Originally a palace, the building has a bulbous red dome atop a whitewashed drum, and fussy decorative…

5. Ka Faroshi Bird Market

0.47 MILES

Entering Kabul’s bird market is like stepping back in time a hundred years, to a corner of the city untouched by war or modernisation. Also known as the…

6. National Archive

0.53 MILES

Holding over 15,000 documents, the National Archive is housed in a palace built at the end of the 19th century by Abdur Rahman Khan for his son. …

7. Ghazi Stadium

1.19 MILES

Kabul’s main stadium hosts football matches most Friday afternoons. In the winter months and at Nauroz there are occasional buzkashi matches.

8. Kabul Zoo

1.22 MILES

The zoo is a popular place for Kabulis in need of recreation. Western animal lovers might find it more than a little depressing. Visitors are greeted…