Photos Capture Afghanistan in the 1960's

From Kabul's steep earthen neighborhoods to lush green countryside, snow capped mountains and agriculture, see Afghanistan before it was ravaged by 30+ years of war.

Afghanistan in the 1960's, photographer unknown.

(SALEM) - I have posted a collection of photographs that document Afghanistan as it appeared during the late 1960's. The collection was given to me while I was covering the war in Afghanistan during the winter of 2006 and 2007 by soldiers at Camp Phoenix, the U.S. Army military base in Kabul.

I do not know the photographer, the assumption is that they were shot by a British diplomat based here at that time. I hope maybe the photographer will let us know their name at some point, we would enjoy knowing more, particularly the year or years the photos were taken.

The pictures show different parts of Afghanistan, from Kabul's steep earthen neighborhoods to lush green countryside and agriculture. The famous Buddhist statues destroyed by the Taliban are there in beautiful condition.

There are many personal photographs of people I assume to be friends and family of the photographer(s).

Afghanistan's military is shown as are sporting events like the game 'Buzkashi,' depicted in 'Rambo 3' where an animal carcass is used as the "ball" and Afghan horsemen clash violently for control of the dead animal.

Speaking of animals, a whole variety are featured in this collection of almost 350 photographs. Horses and camels of course, and the other furry creatures you might expect to have been able to see in the pre-war years, are included in these images, but then so is the zoo in Kabul, full of wild animals.

The thing about these photos of Afghanistan, in comparison to those I took thirty years later, is that the people in the old days are smiling. They all seem to have both legs. This was not what I witnessed.

I know the collection was posted on the base server at Camp Phoenix for all soldiers to see, so they are not unknown, but they are unique and tell a story of a vastly different time, when Afghanistan was a communist country at peace.

This was a time when women had equal rights, girls attended schools side by side with boys. Women worked as professors and held political office, they were not beaten in the street or forced to wear burqas.

Indeed, this is a time before terrorism swept the Afghan countryside.

Religious zealots weren't allowed to dominate life and society; in fact the communist system was so intolerant to religion that it gave way to a full reversal of the system.

It was only a window of time, it all ended with the 1979 Islamic Revolution that led to sweeping change in societal order here. For the next ten years Afghanistan suffered during the civil war between government and Soviet forces, and the western-backed Mujaheddin warriors.

In the 1960's and 1970's Afghanistan was a hippie mecca and a destination for all kinds of world travelers. But today it could not be farther from that than it is. Today the places that are bright and green are brown and dismal. Elegant buildings in bright paint are now ruins.

It was pointed out tonight by Salem-News.com writer Arun Shrivastava, in India, that the photos are not all from Afghanistan. One he cites is Chashma Shahi near Srinagar, Kashmir. Built by the Moghuls emperors.

Trees that gave much needed summer shade are all gone, the only wood that finds its way into Kabul is shipped from Pakistan through the Khyber Pass.

I am including a few photos with this story but if you want to see the full collection, you will have to visit my Facebook page, facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter, or go straight to the photo album titled: Afghanistan Before Soviet Invasion.

https://www.facebook.com/TimKing.Reporter/media_set?set=a.10202230300375706.1073741834.1135921890&type=3