Kabul City Center

Coordinates: 34°31′57″N 69°09′56″E / 34.5325°N 69.1656°E / 34.5325; 69.1656
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Kabul City Center
کابل سیتی سینتر
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
Type
US $ 35 million[4]
OwnerHaji Abdul Qudus Safi[5]
Technical details
Floor count10[4]
Lifts/elevators3[5]
Design and construction
EngineerLouis Berger Group[6]
Other information
Number of stores100[4]
Number of suites40[4]
Number of restaurants2[4]
Website
www.safilandmarkhotelsuites.com

Kabul City Center (

escalators and is notable for being the first building in Kabul to be equipped with functional escalators. The building also includes the Safi Landmark Hotel, a 4-star hotel that occupies the top six of the building's ten floors. The Safi Landmark has become one of the most famous hotels in Kabul for visitors and foreigners. The building has been subject to two terrorist attacks, in 2010 and 2011. In 2013, the mall received media attention for housing an unofficial Apple Store
.

History

When Ghulam Hazrat Safi returned to

US$35 million to build both Kabul City Center shopping mall and its adjacent hotel, the Safi Landmark Hotel.[4] The hotel employs 150 local staff and 100 Indian staff.[5]

On 26 February 2010, the mall was attacked by a

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied the motive behind the bombing was to intentionally target Indian people and attempt to erode Afghanistan–India relations, instead claiming that European people were their primary target.[7] US$4 million was spent to bring the mall back to operation within two months of the attack.[8]

Immediately after the first bombing, the mall was renovated to install explosive resistant glass windows

metal detectors before they were allowed to enter was begun. This screening stopped a suicide bomber from entering the mall on 14 February 2011.[9]

Features

Inside Kabul City Center: escalator (left); food court (right)

Kabul City Center consists of 100 shops, including a

expatriates.[12] Initially the restaurant was mostly occupied only by men, however a year later after the opening, more women started to visit the mall, with restaurant becoming a common meeting place for men and women.[13]

One of the notable features of the mall is the escalator, which has become one of the most famous attractions in the city, as Kabul City Center was the first building in Kabul to be equipped with escalators,[1] and after its construction became the only building in Afghanistan with working escalators.[6]

Kabul City Center garnered further media attention when an unofficial

US$700, which is $50 more than the original price in the United States. The shop's products are imported from Dubai and sales are reported to be healthy, with six iPhones and two MacBooks sold each day, despite limited stock. Most of the store's customers are young people who work in the private sector. The store manager has considered expansion by adding a service and repair center, as well as opening a second branch in another area of Kabul. The store's manager claims to have mailed a photo of the store's grand opening to Apple Inc. without reply.[14]

Public reception

The mall has been described as luxurious and expensive by many Afghani citizens as most of the products sold inside are considered unaffordable by the majority of the population.

access to electricity.[6]

Despite the unaffordability, many people visit the mall to experience the escalator, which cannot be found elsewhere in Afghanistan.[1] Because many Afghanis do not have experience with the technology inside the mall, some have trouble using the facilities. One woman is reported to have injured herself after trying to walk down the 'up' escalator.[5]

Some citizens have argued that, instead of spending money building luxurious shops in the mall, investment should be made in building factories, which would create job opportunities for the unemployed.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Issa, Christine (2006). "Architecture as a Symbol of National Identity in Afghanistan" (PDF). Geographische Rundschau International Edition Vol. 2. Westermann Verlag. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  2. ^ "About Kabul". Center of Islamic Banking & Economics. 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  3. ^
    Washington Post
    . Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f W. Herold, Marc (24 April 2006). ""Afghanistan as an Empty Space: the Perfect Neo-Colonial State of the 21st Century" (with 44 photographs)" (PDF). grassrootspeace.org. Traprock Peace Cente. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e Jawad, Mohammad (20 November 2005). "Afghans Head for the Mall". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Fariba Nawa. Afghanistan Inc.: A CorpWatch Investigative Report (PDF) (Report). CorpWatch. pp. 2–4. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  7. ^ J. Rubin, Alissa (26 February 2010). "Guesthouses Used by Foreigners in Kabul Hit in Deadly Attacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  8. McClatchy DC
    . Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  9. New York Times
    . Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Holmes, Paul (20 January 2007). "Luxury goods highlight Afghan wealth gap". Reuters. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  11. ^ Krishnamurthy, Rajeshwari (28 June 2013). "Kabul Diary: Discovering the Indian connection". Gateway House. Retrieved 23 June 2020. Loitering around City Centre mall this week, I stumbled across a small bookstore with a big treasure. The shop had a book on the Rig Veda in Dari – one of the most spoken languages in the country.
  12. ^ a b Touryalai, Halah (29 April 2013). "A Fake Apple Store In Afghanistan Is Selling The iPhone 5 For $700". Forbes. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  13. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.508.8741
    .
  14. ^ Mirani, Leo (24 April 2013). "The unofficial Apple store in Afghanistan". Quartz. Retrieved 23 June 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kabul City Center.
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