The National Museum of Afghanistan is located in the neighborhood of Darulaman, some 8 kilometers south of central Kabul. The area was developed in the early 20th century to be a new and modern center for Kabul. Numerous government buildings were built in this area, including the massive heavily damaged Darulaman Palace on the site to the south of the Museum and also the Institute of Archaeology building, which is also ruined. The site of the Museum is accessed from the center of Kabul along the Daurulaman Road, which was constructed at the same time as the neighborhood of Darulaman. The National Museum was built in 1919 AD in a restaurant at Baghe Bala (Royal garden located in Kabul). The collections, which were mostly ethnographic objects, display there until 1925. In 1925 the objects were transferred to Presidential palace (Arg) and in 1931 the objects transferred to the current building of the museum which was under the use of Municipality department. Later on when the legal excavation was started by the Afghan and foreign archaeological expedition teams the collection increased to more than 100,000 Islamic and Pre-Islamic objects. Over the past decades, the National Museum of Afghanistan has suffered immensely from the country’s instability and ongoing conflict in the region. The once in the region well know Museum, famous for its unique collection, is now slowly recovering from the devastation it suffered in past. Many efforts have been made to restore the Museum building and its collection. Today the museum operates again and is open to the public. The staff of the National Museum of Afghanistan has started again to preserve and present its collection. The immense effort of recent years makes it possible that the National Museum once again represents Afghanistan’s rich history and unique culture heritage in the region. Today the mission of the National Museum of Afghanistan is to serve as the premier national cultural heritage institution and to preserve, study, exhibit, and collect the most important examples of Afghanistan's rich and diverse archaeological and ethnographic cultural heritage while educating the local, national, and international communities and advancing the world's knowledge and appreciation of Afghanistan's remarkable heritage. This is to be done in the service of the public and in accordance with the highest professional standards. The National Museum is a Government Institution working under the umbrella of the Ministry of Information and Culture.