Foreign Policy Magazine

From the leafy courtyards of Damascus to the whitewashed shores of Mogadishu, this photo essay series takes readers to more peaceful times. Inspired by a 1960s vintage book of Kabul replete with Mad Men furniture and pencil skirts, the series has roamed to the bikini-clad beachgoers who once thronged Egypt's own Riviera in Alexandria, to the Bombay of the Raj, and even to a bucolic Somalia so peaceful that it was once known as the "pearl of the Indian Ocean."

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  Once Upon a Time in Mogadishu
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Damascus
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Bombay
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Egypt
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Tehran
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Kuwait
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Dubai
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Bangkok
  

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  Once Upon a Time in Shanghai