40 Amazing Color Photographs Capture Street Scenes of Afghanistan in the 1960s

Street scenes of Afghanistan in the 1960s, particularly in cities like Kabul, reveal a fascinating blend of tradition and modernization, reflecting a society in transition. The streets of Kabul and other major cities were lined with a mix of modern and traditional buildings. You would see contemporary government buildings, hotels, and shops with large glass windows, interspersed with older mud-brick and stone structures with carved wooden balconies.

Wide boulevards were increasingly common, especially in central Kabul, often busy with cars, buses, bicycles, and pedestrians. Side streets remained more traditional, narrow, and filled with small shops and market stalls. Buses and small taxis were popular for public transportation. Some areas saw newly built roads and traffic signs, highlighting the modernization efforts underway.

Markets were vibrant centers of daily life, bustling with people buying and selling goods. Stalls displayed fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, textiles, and handicrafts. Vendors and customers dressed in traditional Afghan clothing, with men often wearing turbans and long tunics (shalwar kameez) and women wearing colorful dresses and headscarves, though in cities like Kabul, some women wore Western-style clothing, such as skirts and blouses, without full veils.

Mosques, with their distinctive architecture, were a common feature in the street scenes, highlighting the importance of Islam in daily life. People could be seen attending prayers or gathering around mosques.

These street scenes from Afghanistan in the 1960s capture a time of optimism, blending tradition with modernization, and show a society experimenting with new freedoms and opportunities while still holding onto its rich cultural heritage.

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50 Wonderful Color Photographs Capture Everyday Life in Afghanistan in the 1960s

Fractured by internal conflict and foreign intervention for centuries, Afghanistan made several tentative steps toward modernization in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, some of the biggest strides were made toward a more liberal and westernized lifestyle, while trying to maintain a respect for more conservative factions.

Though officially a neutral nation, Afghanistan was courted and influenced by the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, accepting Soviet machinery and weapons, and U.S. financial aid.

This time was a brief, relatively peaceful era, when modern buildings were constructed in Kabul alongside older traditional mud structures, when burqas became optional for a time, and the country appeared to be on a path toward a more open, prosperous society.

Progress was halted in the 1970s, as a series of bloody coups, invasions, and civil wars began, continuing to this day, reversing almost all of the steps toward modernization taken in the 1950s and 1960s. Below is a gallery of 50 wonderful color photographs of Afghanistan in the 1960s.

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Rare Photographs From the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979–1989

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, invasion of Afghanistan in late December 1979 by troops from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989.

In April 1978 Afghanistan’s centrist government, headed by Pres. Mohammad Daud Khan, was overthrown by left-wing military officers led by Nur Mohammad Taraki. Power was thereafter shared by two Marxist-Leninist political groups, the People’s (Khalq) Party and the Banner (Parcham) Party—which had earlier emerged from a single organization, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan—and had reunited in an uneasy coalition shortly before the coup. The new government, which had little popular support, forged close ties with the Soviet Union, launched ruthless purges of all domestic opposition, and began extensive land and social reforms that were bitterly resented by the devoutly Muslim and largely anti-communist population. Insurgencies arose against the government among both tribal and urban groups, and all of these—known collectively as the mujahideen (Arabic mujāhidūn, “those who engage in jihad”)—were Islamic in orientation.

These uprisings, along with internal fighting and coups within the government between the People’s and Banner factions, prompted the Soviets to invade the country on the night of December 24, 1979, sending in some 30,000 troops and toppling the short-lived presidency of People’s leader Hafizullah Amin. The aim of the Soviet operation was to prop up their new but faltering client state, now headed by Banner leader Babrak Karmal, but Karmal was unable to attain significant popular support. Backed by the United States, the mujahideen rebellion grew, spreading to all parts of the country. The Soviets initially left the suppression of the rebellion to the Afghan army, but the latter was beset by mass desertions and remained largely ineffective throughout the war.

The Afghan War quickly settled down into a stalemate, with more than 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, larger towns, and major garrisons and the mujahideen moving with relative freedom throughout the countryside. Soviet troops tried to crush the insurgency by various tactics, but the guerrillas generally eluded their attacks. The Soviets then attempted to eliminate the mujahideen’s civilian support by bombing and depopulating the rural areas. These tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside; by 1982 some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran. The mujahideen were eventually able to neutralize Soviet air power through the use of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles supplied by the Soviet Union’s Cold War adversary, the United States.

The mujahideen were fragmented politically into a handful of independent groups, and their military efforts remained uncoordinated throughout the war. The quality of their arms and combat organization gradually improved, however, owing to experience and to the large quantity of arms and other war matériel shipped to the rebels, via Pakistan, by the United States and other countries and by sympathetic Muslims from throughout the world. In addition, an indeterminate number of Muslim volunteers—popularly termed “Afghan-Arabs,” regardless of their ethnicity—traveled from all parts of the world to join the opposition.

The war in Afghanistan became a quagmire for what by the late 1980s was a disintegrating Soviet Union. (The Soviets suffered some 15,000 dead and many more injured.) Despite having failed to implement a sympathetic regime in Afghanistan, in 1988 the Soviet Union signed an accord with the United States, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. The Soviet withdrawal was completed on February 15, 1989, and Afghanistan returned to nonaligned status.

These rare color photographs taken by U.S-trained Afghans bring the U.S.S.R’s “hidden war” to light.

A fighter watches a Soviet bombardment hammer an Afghan valley. A bloody communist coup in Afghanistan in 1978 was followed a year later by a full-scale invasion by the U.S.S.R.

A militant in training scrabbles through an obstacle course. The 1979 Soviet invasion was widely condemned at the United Nations and helped fuel one of the most expensive CIA operations in history.

Members of the anti-Soviet “mujahedin,” as the jihadist fighters opposing the Soviets became known, with stacks of weaponry. Reportedly beginning in 1979, the CIA began secretly funding the Muslim militant groups that would spend the next decade fighting against the Soviets.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan meeting with Afghan mujahedin leaders in 1983. Soon the United States, together with Saudi Arabia, was funneling hundreds of millions of dollars each year to anti-Soviet militants in Afghanistan in an effort to “bleed” the Soviet Union. (U.S. Government photo)

A mujahedin fighter scans the sky after an air strike. As conditions became increasingly risky for foreign journalists inside Afghanistan (in 1984 a Soviet diplomat vowed any journalist caught with mujahedin fighters would be killed), Washington also funded a controversial program to supply Afghan rebels with cameras.

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30 Incredible Photos Capture Life in Afghanistan in the 1950s and 1960s

In the 1950s and 1960s, after being fractured by internal conflict and foreign intervention for centuries, Afghanistan made several tentative steps toward modernization in the mid-20th century. Some of the biggest strides were made toward a more liberal and westernized lifestyle while trying to maintain respect for more conservative factions.

Children in a Kabul, November 1961.

Though officially a neutral nation, Afghanistan was courted and influenced by the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, accepting Soviet machinery and weapons, and U.S. financial aid.

This time was a brief, relatively peaceful era when modern buildings were constructed in Kabul alongside older traditional mud structures, when burqas became optional for a time, and the country appeared to be on a path toward a more open, prosperous society.

Women, wearing traditional burqas and Persian slippers, walk alongside men, cars and horse carts, in a street in Kabul, 1951. At the time, this street was one of only three paved streets in the capital city.

Progress was halted in the 1970s, as a series of bloody coups, invasions, and civil wars began, continuing to this day, reversing almost all of the steps toward modernization taken in the '50s and '60s.

Afghan boys, men, and a woman walk through a street in Kabul, March 1954.

Afghan boys play with kites as men walk past, November 1959.

Afghan women, men, and child in traditional dress ride in a cart through an arid, rocky landscape, November 1959.

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The Afghanery: Wonderful Afghan Knitting Patterns From the 1970s

This needlework booklet from Spinnerin contains some wonderful slices of seventies fashion gold – featuring groovy chicks and superstuds wrapped in crochet splendor.

The booklet was scanned by Retro Hound and has many wonderful patterns for Afghans in knit, crochet and Afghan stitch. The American Indian blanket is particularly popular. Besides the double wedding ring and Pennsylvania Dutch there is a Lone Star pattern in Afghan stitch. Several typical 1970’s patterns.

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Photos of Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan in 1989

The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov.

Planning for the withdrawal of the Soviet Union (USSR) from the Afghanistan War began soon after Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union attempted to consolidate the PDPA's hold over power in the country, first in a genuine effort to stabilize the country, and then as a measure to save face while withdrawing troops. During this period, the military and intelligence organizations of the USSR worked with the government of Mohammad Najibullah to improve relations between the government in Kabul and the leaders of rebel factions.

The diplomatic relationship between the USSR and the United States improved at the same time as it became clear to the Soviet Union that this policy of consolidating power around Najibullah's government in Kabul would not produce sufficient results to maintain the power of the PDPA in the long run.

The Geneva Accords, signed by representatives of the USSR, the USA, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Afghanistan (thus renamed in 1987) on 14 April 1988, provided a framework for the departure of Soviet forces, and established a multilateral understanding between the signatories regarding the future of international involvement in Afghanistan. The military withdrawal commenced soon after, with all Soviet forces leaving Afghanistan by 15 February 1989.

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Rare Vintage Photos Capture Everyday Life in Afghanistan From the 1970s

John L. Beck is a Maryland-based photographer who took these amazing pictures of daily life in Afghanistan in October, 1971.

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20 Wonderful Color Photographs Capture Street Scenes of Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1960s

In the mid-20th century, many in Afghanistan were free to embrace Western culture. The U.S. and Soviet Union both wanted to control in Afghanistan during the Cold War, seeking influence with money and machinery. Here, the Associated Press’s Henry S. Bradsher and Henry Burroughs recorded everyday life in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1960s, in color.

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35 Vintage Pictures Documented Everyday Life in Afghanistan From the 1950s and 1960s

Fractured by internal conflict and foreign intervention for centuries, Afghanistan made several tentative steps toward modernization in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, some of the biggest strides were made toward a more liberal and westernized lifestyle, while trying to maintain a respect for more conservative factions.

Though officially a neutral nation, Afghanistan was courted and influenced by the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, accepting Soviet machinery and weapons, and U.S. financial aid. This time was a brief, relatively peaceful era, when modern buildings were constructed in Kabul alongside older traditional mud structures, when burqas became optional for a time, and the country appeared to be on a path toward a more open, prosperous society.

Keep in mind, when looking at these images, that the average life expectancy for Afghans born in 1960 was 31, so the vast majority of those pictured have likely passed on since.

Picture taken in 1962 at the Faculty of Medicine in Kabul of two Afghan medicine students listening to their professor (at right) as they examine a plaster cast showing a part of a human body. (AFP/Getty Images)

Men stroll past roadside vendors as a painted truck makes its way through the busy street in Kabul, Afghanistan, November, 1961. (AP Photo/Henry S. Bradsher)

The modern new (completed 1966) government printing plant in Kabul, on June 9, 1966, which houses Kabul Times. Most of its machinery was furnished by West Germany. (AP Photo)

Architecture in Kabul, Afghanistan, seen on May 28, 1968. (AP Photo/James Martenhoff)

Street scene in Kabul, Afghanistan in November, 1961. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)

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36 Amazing Color Photographs That Capture Everyday Life in Afghanistan From the 1960s

In 1967, Dr. William Podlich took a two-year leave of absence from teaching at Arizona State University and began a stint with UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to teach in the Higher Teachers College in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he served as the “Expert on Principles of Education.” His wife Margaret and two daughters, Peg and Jan, came with him. Then teenagers, the Podlich sisters attended high school at the American International School of Kabul, which catered to the children of American and other foreigners living and working in the country.

Outside of higher education, Dr. Podlich was a prolific amateur photographer and he documented his family’s experience and daily life in Kabul, rendering frame after frame of a serene, idyllic Afghanistan. Only about a decade before the 1979 Soviet invasion, Dr. Podlich and his family experienced a thriving, modernizing country. These images, taken from 1967-68, show a stark contrast to the war torn scenes associated with Afghanistan today.

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