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These Amazing Pictures Show What Iraq Was Like Before The Country's Decades Of Chaos
These Amazing Pictures Show What Iraq Was Like Before The Country's Decades Of Chaos
Jeremy BenderJun 19, 2014, 20:29 IST
Iraq has lived under a nearly-continuous state of conflict or international sanctions since 1980, the year the war with neighboring Iran began. After the ravages of Saddam Hussein's decades in power, and the chaos that's taken hold for most of the years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, it's difficult for outsiders to envision the country as a thriving or even functional place.
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The recent gains by the radical jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and its assorted allies helps to perpetuate this view. Iraq seems like a hopelessly broken place.
But before its decades of war and totalitarian rule, Iraq was a quickly modernizing country. The British archival footage company Pathe recently shared a travel reel that showcased the beauty and diversity of scenery found throughout the country between 1950 and 1959 on YouTube.
Below we have highlighted some photos that highlight what Iraq was like before decades of war and conflict affected the county.
Baghdad was a modernizing city, with wide boulevards and grassy traffic circles.
