Syria has been the site of one of the worst conflicts on earth for the past four and a half years. The most recognizable images of the country today depict bombed-out buildings, piles of rubble, and displaced citizens.
A collection of images taken fifty years earlier by Charles W. Cushman, an avid traveler and amateur photographer, are a stark contrast.
Though Syria saw a number of coups d'etat in the 1960s and in the decades before and after, Cushman's photos of downtown Damascus in 1965 paint a more mundane picture, showing families gathering, men riding donkeys, and shoppers in bustling bazaars.
These photos are being shared with permission from the Indiana University Archives.
4 million Syrians have fled their country since 2011. These drone images of a flattened Damascus make it clear why so many people no longer feel safe there.
Entire neighborhoods have been leveled in the fighting, and parts of the capital appear devoid of human life.
Syria was unstable 50 years ago, too. Shortly before Cushman visited Damascus in 1965, the country's government was overthrown in a coup d'etat.
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