Paghman Gardens, Kabul, Afghanistan

"Paghman Gardens is a popular place near Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul. It is a place where people relax and spend the weekends there with friends and relatives. At the entrance is the European style monumental gate, similar to that of the Paris Arc de Triomphe but smaller.

After his 1927 – 1928 tour of Europe, India and Iran, King Amanullah brought in foreign experts to redesign Kabul. Paghman, a small village at the bottom of the Hindu Kush, became a holiday retreat with villas and chalets as well as the summer capital.

The new royal gardens were opened to the public under the proviso -as a matter of reform- that western dress was adopted there, as in the royal residential areas of nearby Kabul."

The photos above were taken in 1967 and in 2007. In between were the Soviet invasion (1978-1989) and the Afghanistan civil war (1992 - 2001). The photos show what two decades of war can do to a country.

Image credit here. Click image to enlarge.