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Believe it or not, but the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world counts its existence for 11,000 years as of today. The town, Damascus, is the Syrian capital city, and astonishingly enough, not much has changed behind this ancient city's walls. However, not many towns keep the same faces for such a long time, often changing and evolving. Sometimes the city development makes it even more beautiful, but as it is in a more often case, the alluring greenery and historical houses have to make way for skyscrapers in the ever-changing city skyline.

The world has increased over the last 100 years that it's difficult to imagine just how much things have changed during that time. Many of the world's most famous cities and country capitals - like Kuala Lumpur for example, or Hong Kong - bare little resemblance to their earlier selves, and cities such as Dubai didn't even exist at all until relatively recently.

Take a look at these before and after pictures of beautiful cities to see what we mean. Compiled by Bored Panda, they're sure to give you a fresh perspective on how you look at the world's biggest cities and settlements.

#2

Seoul, South Korea - 1900 And Now

Seoul, South Korea - 1900 And Now

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#4

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - 1970 And Now

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - 1970 And Now

theculturist.com , Predrag Vuckovic Report

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#5

Singapore, Republic Of Singapore – 2000 And Now

Singapore, Republic Of Singapore – 2000 And Now

Ong Wee Jin Report

#6

Tokyo, Japan - 1945 And Now

Tokyo, Japan - 1945 And Now

japanairraids.org Report

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Robert Bailey
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7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's impressive. Especially since they've had to rebuild after a dozen Godzilla attacks.

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#7

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 2005 And Now

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 2005 And Now

lovindubai.com Report

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#10

Shenzen, China - 1964 And Now

Shenzen, China - 1964 And Now

David McLeod Report

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#17

Melbourne, Australia - 1920 And Now

Melbourne, Australia - 1920 And Now

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#18

London, The Great Britain - 1920 And Now

London, The Great Britain - 1920 And Now

Slava Stepanov Report

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Saima Nisbet
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Try to be accurate, this is basic geography. There is no "the" before "Great Britain", it's either "Great Britain" or "The United Kingdom", depending on which parts you are including in the reference.

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#19

Istanbul, Turkey - 1905 And Now

Istanbul, Turkey - 1905 And Now

Public Domain Report

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#21

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1920 And Now

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 1920 And Now

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#24

Los Angeles, Usa - 1940 And Now

Los Angeles, Usa - 1940 And Now

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Daniel Bailey
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The 1940s photo of Los Angeles appears to be a view of the Fairfax district with the Park La Brea residential complex (built in 1944) highlighted in the center. And the "Now" photo is of downtown Los Angeles, several miles away, with several of the more recent buildings missing. The Now photo is at least 5 years old.

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#26

San Francisco, Usa - 1947 And Now

San Francisco, Usa - 1947 And Now

Redwood Empire Assn Report

#27

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2005 And Now

Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2005 And Now

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Anusha Shetty
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every other place has changed over a period of 40, 50, 100 years... But UAE changed drastically over a period of 10 years!

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#28

Long Beach, Usa - 1953 And Now

Long Beach, Usa - 1953 And Now

Jeff Gritchen Report

#30

Hong Kong, China - 1980 And Now

Hong Kong, China - 1980 And Now

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