Once Upon a Time

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.”

• Once Upon a Time in Mogadishu

• Once Upon a Time in Damascus

• Once Upon a Time in Bombay

• Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan

• Once Upon a Time in Egypt

• Once Upon a Time in Tehran

• Once Upon a Time in Kuwait

• Once Upon a Time in Dubai

• Once Upon a Time in Bangkok

• Once Upon a Time in Shanghai