1960s Afghanistan presents a stark contrast to the war-torn region we recognize today. Take a peek at the way Afghanistan was — and how it can be again.
Dr. William Podlich (second from left) almost always had his small Olympus camera with him on his travels, and he was usually the man behind the camera. This is a rare photo that he himself appears in. Afghan men out for a picnic. Peg Podlich on a trip from Kabul to Peshawar, Pakistan. Dr. Bill Podlich on a hillside in Kabul. A Buddha statue in Bamiyan Valley. In 2001, the Taliban destroyed the two largest ones. Men looking over Istalif, a centuries-old center for pottery. Men and boys enjoying the waters of the Kabul river. An Afghan boy decorating cakes. Jan Podlich during a shopping trip in Istalif. An outdoor market selling a colorful variety of produce. A crowded plaza filled with people celebrating the new year. A senior English class at the American International School of Kabul. Young students in a playground. These students do their work in a shaded outdoor classroom. Desks and a leafy canopy are all these students need to make a classroom in the summer. Wading children play and women wash as ducks float serenely by. Students at the Higher Teachers College of Kabul, where Dr. Podlich taught for two years with UNESCO. An Afghani military band. An Afghan Army parade through Kabul. Afghan repairmen in Kabul. Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, built in the early 20th century under the reign of Amanullah Khan. The streets fill with cars during rush hour. Kabul Gorge, sometimes called Tang-i-Gharu, connects Kabul with Jalalabad. The seasons change, and this winter crowd smiles for the camera. A boy sells balloons by the river. Men gather on makeshift mobile bleachers. Parking lot of the American International School of Kabul. A chemistry lesson in a mud-walled classroom. Sisters walking the streets of Kabul. Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley, home to numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as Islamic edifices. A man bends his head for a shave. A man preparing jalebi, a sweet dessert. King's Hill in Paghman Gardens, constructed following Amanullah Khan's tour of Europe, India, and Iran. Paghman soon became a chic holiday retreat filled with chalets, villas, and gardens. These royal gardens were public; however, in order to enter, one had to don Western garb. At the tail end of the 20th century, though, Paghman became a Mujahideen battleground, and most everything has since been destroyed. A residential hillside in Kabul. The King's Palace, where guards are always on duty. The Soviet-built Salang Tunnel, which connects northern and southern Afghanistan. A man kneels to pray. Two Afghan men walking home. Afghan men exercise their civil rights and protest. A gas station in Kabul. Afghan girls coming home from school. Both Afghan boys and girls were educated until the high school level. Even as cities grow, many areas of rural Afghanistan remain untouched by the changing times. A truck trundles down a dusty road. Two Afghan teachers at the Higher Teachers College. A stop during the Podlich family's bus trip through the Khyber Pass. Peg Podlich arriving in Kabul.
46 Fascinating Photos Of 1960s Afghanistan Before The Taliban View GalleryThe peaceful mood and smiling faces that fill images of 1960s Afghanistan are a far cry from modern photos of a country struggling with war and vast corruption. In Afghanistan before the Taliban, the infrastructural investment and Western influence of the 1960s and early '70s created a sociopolitical climate much different than the one that's dominated the last several decades. See more of 1960s Afghanistan before the Taliban in the gallery above and dig deeper into the history below.
What Life Was Like In Afghanistan Before The Taliban
The 1950s and 1960s were a hopeful time for the inhabitants of Afghanistan. Internal conflict and foreign intervention had plagued the area for centuries, but recent decades had been relatively peaceful ones.
In the 1930s, the young and progressive king Amanullah Khan was determined to modernize Afghanistan and bring the social, political, and economic achievements he witnessed on his tours of Europe to his own land.
He asked the world's wealthiest nations for help bankrolling his projected reforms, and, seeing the strategic value in a modernized Afghanistan friendly to their own interests in the region, world powers agreed.
Between 1945 and 1954, the United States sunk more than $50 million in loans into the construction of the Kandahar-Herat highway. By 1960, U.S. economic aid to Afghanistan had reached $165 million.
Most of that money was improving the country's infrastructure; when it came to capital investments, American entrepreneurs were wary.
But the Soviet Union had no such scruples. By 1960, the U.S.S.R. had paid out more than $300 million in loans. By 1973, this number had risen to nearly $1 billion. They were also not shy of investing in the region's oil and petroleum industries, and as a result, Afghanistan received more financial aid (per capita) from the Soviet Union than any other developing country.
Kabul, the capital and largest city in Afghanistan, was first to see the changes. Modern buildings began to appear next to traditional mud structures, and new roads spanned the length of the city and beyond.
Women had more educational opportunities than ever before — they could attend Kabul University, and burqas were optional. Some pushed the boundaries of their society's traditionally conservative fashion and sported miniskirts.
The country attracted visitors from around the world, and its tourists returned home to tell their family and friends of beautiful gardens, stunning architecture, breathtaking mountains, and friendly locals.
The money from two emerging superpowers would, in the end, be so much kindling for a growing political firestorm — but for two blissful decades, things finally seemed to be going right.
The Golden Age Of 1960s Afghanistan Gives Way To The Violence Of The '70s
It all went wrong in the spring of 1978, when the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) staged a coup against the country's current president, Mohammed Daoud Khan. They immediately embarked on a series of reforms, including land redistribution and the overhaul of the largely Islamic legal system, that the country wasn't ready for.
By the fall, the eastern part of the country was rebelling, and the conflict escalated into a civil war between the Pakistani-funded mujahideen rebels and the new government.
The Soviet Union backed the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, and with Cold War tensions running high, the U.S. quickly moved to counter what they perceived as Soviet expansionism, quietly supporting the mujahideen rebels.
When an internal schism within the People's Democratic Party resulted in the assassination of leader Nur Muhammad Taraki and the appointment of a new PDPA leader, the Soviet Union decided to get their hands dirty. They waded into the conflict themselves and set up their own regime.
The United States redoubled its support for the mujahideen rebels and sent billions in financial aid and weapons to Pakistan, the country funneling resources to the rebels next door.
The conflict, referred to as the Soviet–Afghan War, lasted ten years and left as many as 2 million Afghans dead. It displaced 6 million as air bombings destroyed the cities and the countryside — the very roads and buildings that 1960s Afghanistan had just begun to enjoy.
The developing country was gone and not even the end of the war could bring it back. Even after the Soviet Union withdrew, fighting continued, and some of the mujahideen rebels formed a new group: the Taliban. Afghanistan plunged deeper into chaos and terror.
How One American Doctor Captured The Mood Of 1960s Afghanistan
In 1967, Arizona State University professor Dr. Bill Podlich and his family swapped the stark, sultry summers of Tempe, Arizona, for the environs of Kabul, Afghanistan.
After serving in World War II, Podlich wanted to promote peace, and for that reason, he teamed up with UNESCO to work for two years at the Higher Teachers College of Kabul, Afghanistan. With him were his children, Jan and Peg, along with his wife, Margaret.
When not building relationships with his Afghan cohorts, Podlich developed something else: his Kodachrome film, which captured a modernizing and peaceful Afghanistan that stands in stark contrast to the harrowing images from the war-torn country we see today.
That is why, in Peg Podlich's eyes, her father's photos are so incredibly important. Says Podlich, these photos "can encourage folks to see Afghanistan and its people as they were and could be. It is important to know that we have more in common with people in other lands than what separates us."
In light of what has happened to Afghanistan since, it's more important than ever to remember the country that Bill Podlich captured in his photographs. According to Said Tayeb Jawad, the former Afghan ambassador to the United States, many today tend to think of Afghanistan as an ungovernable collection of competing tribes with differing viewpoints and a history of bloody grudges that can't be laid to rest.
Its critics say that the country's ethnic conflicts are intractable, perhaps to the point of being unsolvable. But Podlich's photos of Afghanistan before the Taliban show that this isn't true.
In the 1960s, Afghanistan before the Taliban experienced a period of prosperity unlike anything that had come before. Just because groups disagree doesn't mean resolution is impossible. After all, Mr. Jawad dryly points out, "Afghanistan is less tribal than New York."
For more information on life in Afghanistan today, consider watching this Vice series on Afghanistan since the American-led invasion in 2001:
If you enjoyed this post on 1960s Afghanistan before the Taliban, you might be interested in images of Syria after years of civil war and staggering photos of Iran before 1979. And before you leave, be sure to like All That's Interesting on Facebook!
ncG1vNJzZmiZnKHBqa3TrKCnrJWnsrTAyKeeZ5ufonxyhZVpqmaZlpy1orrIrKuapg%3D%3D