18

Everybody in Berlin was “amused”

When the Afghan king Amanullah Khan and his charming wife Soraya visited Berlin in 1928 Berlin was over the moon. Thousands came to Unter den Linden and to Friedrichstrasse to see the exotic state visitor with thrier own eyes. The king wore a light blue tunic embroidered with gold thread, countless medals and on his shako with heron feathers glistens a diamond agraffe. The people in Berlin without further ado christen him “Ullemulle”.
The youthful king is interested in technologies and progress, he drives a tube train and races a car along the motoring circuit Avus, he inspected a parade of fourty airplanes in thr Tempelhofer Feld and visits AEG in Schöneweide. At the same time Soraya and her attendants enter the beauty salon Kühnen. The Prinz-Albrecht-Palais where the couple lodges becomes a kind of warehouse for everything they wish for in their home country – modern carpets, chemical products, sculptures … But the guests also bring presents for the host, among them an ancient Buddha statue from Gandhara. Today it belongs to the Museum of Asian Art and will be on display in the Humboldt-Forum from 2019.