Insightful Photographs of 1960’s Afghanistan Reveal What Life Was like before the Taliban Regime

When asked to imagine modern-day Afghanistan, you’ll see photographs of a war-torn nation under the control of the Taliban often come to mind. Though, if you envisage the history of Afghanistan there was once a time when this country showed peace and good fortune. Therefore, University professor Dr. Bill Podlich captured the phase in history when he travelled to Afghanistan in 1967 with his wife Margaret, and Jan and Peg, their two teenage daughters. Moreover the key reason for their relocation revolved around Dr. Podlich's wish to become the Expert of Principles of Education at the Higher Teachers College of Kabul. Thus, aside from teaching, the professor also used his Kodachrome film camera to hold onto 1960s Afghanistan and to capture the relationships he'd forged with several Afghans.

Well, in their tour Dr. Podlich captured a liberal land and Westernized lifestyle. All over smiling boys, girls are learning in classrooms, even women wearing short skirts on a warm day, and families simply loving each other's company outdoors. However, miserably, this uplifting atmosphere totally changed only a decade later. Afghanistan was pulled into war, occupied, and became a country ruled by the Taliban.

When I look at my dad's pictures, I remember Afghanistan as a country with thousands of years of history and culture, Dr. Podlich’s daughter who once attended the American International School of Kabul. We still remember that it was been a gut-wrenching experience to watch and hear about the thoughtful suffering which has happened in Afghanistan during the battles of war for approximately 40 years. Ferocious and proud yet fun loving people have been beaten down by terrible forces." Now, the happier times live on in photographs.