A Lifetime Ago: The Elegance Of 1920s Afghanistan

Springtime in a garden near Kabul. In the 1920s, Afghanistan was a newly independent country after breaking away from the British Empire. For most of the decade, it was ruled by Amanullah Khan, a secular reformist who sought to modernize the country along Western lines.

Pith-helmeted visitors in front of a tea house in the hills west of Kabul.

A goldsmith at work in a mud-walled courtyard in Kabul. These 1928 images, made by photographer Frederic Gadmer, form part of the Archives of the Planet project, which aimed to capture the world with large-format color photographs.

A woman strolling along a tree-lined avenue in Kabul. The Archives of the Planet project was funded by a French banker who sent photographers to more than 50 countries between 1909-31.

The tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is seen as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. The archives are packed with enthralling images of the world a century ago, but the photos of Afghanistan stand out for illustrating how drastically the country has changed.

A clock tower in Kabul. The graceful structure was reportedly smashed to rubble during the civil war that wracked Afghanistan in the 1990s.

A European woman posing for a portrait in Kabul.

Stucco decorations on a house in Kabul.

A triumphal arch in the Paghman gardens near Kabul. The arch commemorates the victims of the 1919 war against the British, which is known in Afghanistan as the War of Independence. The top of the structure was blasted off during fighting in the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s but has since been restored.

The Paghman gardens. The public estate was built in the early 1900s by Amanullah Khan.

A fountain in the Paghman gardens. Most buildings there were destroyed during the waves of fighting in the 1980s and 1990s.

A European woman strolling through the Paghman gardens. Today the area is used for dog-fighting contests.

Spring in the Paghman gardens. In 1992, a former resident who had lost his family and home after eight years of war returned to Paghman, telling a reporter: “It was once so beautiful and now it is all gone.”

A Mr. and Mrs. Girard, directors of Kabul’s school of agriculture.

A pastel-colored corner building in Kabul.

Camel herders in southern Afghanistan.

Explorers at the Farah Citadel, in western Afghanistan. The citadel is still standing today.

A fountain at rest in Kabul.

The Darul Aman Palace, on the outskirts of Kabul. The palace was another project of Amanullah Khan’s, but after Islamic hard-liners forced him from power in 1929 its construction was stalled.

A rear view of Darul Aman Palace. After the chaos of the 1980s and 1990s, the bullet-pocked palace became a symbol of Afghanistan’s lawlessness, but an Afghan initiative aims to restore the palace in time for the centenary of Afghan independence in August 2019.