Vintage photos show what Syria's capital city looked like 50 years ago
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.
The military then overthrew the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1966, a year later.
But these photos show a more mundane side of the country, giving a rare glimpse into everyday life in Damascus 50 years ago.
Below, a group travels along a road that links Beirut and Damascus.
Women wear a range of religious garb.
Men wear western-style suits.
Many of Cushman's photos feature animals.
In the mid-60s, animals could be seen transporting goods through downtown Damascus. Cushman described this one as "a full load."
Sometimes, they also carried people.
"Big rider - small donkey" reads the description on this photo.
The photos show bustling street scenes as well.
Carts were piled high with fruit ...
... families went shopping together ...
... and peddlers carried their wares on their backs.
A minaret rises behind a busy market.
The downtown was packed with shoppers.
A packed street.
Cushman wrote on this photo, "Syrian high-rise?"
Here's the Barada river flowing through Damascus.
Sheep all over the Damascus highway.
Farmland rolling outside Damascus. Today, the city and the surrounding area are heavily contested between the Assad regime and Syria's various rebel groups. But when this photo was taken, the country's devastating civil war was still decades in the future.
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