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The maxi-chromatic Bin Laden family, 40 years ago
05.05.2011
10:17 pm
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The Guardian’s recent amalgamation of photos from Osama bin Laden’s life opens with the above absolute visual gem, which the editors caption as follows:

1971: Osama bin Laden (second from right) on a visit to Falun, Sweden. That year 23 members of the wealthy Bin Laden family visited Falun while one of the elder brothers conducted business with Volvo. Osama is remembered from the occasion as a quiet and reserved boy who at 16 didn’t really stand out from the crowd…

Although it’s bounced around the blogosphere for a while, this picture’s still something to behold. Shot four years after the death of construction magnate/patriarch Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden’s accidental death by plane crash, the photo highlights the bright and brilliant fashion sense of a typical rich and cosmopolitan Saudi family on tour in early ‘70s Europe. Osama—the 17th of Mohammed’s 54 kids from 22 wives—peers out in seemingly pure velour and a comparatively subdued yellow-green and Carolina blue combo.

Of course, perhaps the most laden irony on a trip surrounding business with Volvo is the nearly obscured presence of what seems to be a sick pink Caddy.

Thanks to timmmiii…
...and also to metasonix, who spotted what I thought might have been a Caddy as actually a ‘67 Chrysler Imperial…

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
The Aging of Osama bin Laden
The Undersea World of Osama bin Laden

Posted by Ron Nachmann
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05.05.2011
10:17 pm
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