A little more than 10 years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, RFE/RL Azerbaijani Service photographer Abbas Atilay traveled through Iraq to document the state of that war-torn country. Atilay's photos capture a vital and recovering Iraq, but also show the scars left by a decade of instability. (20 PHOTOS)
Faces Of Iraq
![A militiaman takes a lunch break while guarding the Al-Madain, the site of an ancient metropolis spanning the Tigris River south of Baghdad.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ff419b86-1479-49f5-ae13-eff330160e56_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A militiaman takes a lunch break while guarding the Al-Madain, the site of an ancient metropolis spanning the Tigris River south of Baghdad.
![Military units guard a historic building at the Al-Madain.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c0a3856a-ad99-4ba9-a0c4-6fd1a315ee6b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Military units guard a historic building at the Al-Madain.
![A military vehicle stands at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad after a heavy rain.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b1d2f736-8c1e-4058-899c-dcd9b097a564_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A military vehicle stands at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad after a heavy rain.
![This government building in Kirkuk was largely destroyed by a suicide bombing in which more than 30 people died.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2aa87bfa-7878-49ba-bdc9-34a2e63940be_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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This government building in Kirkuk was largely destroyed by a suicide bombing in which more than 30 people died.
![A soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in Karbala, one of countless security points in Iraq.](https://gdb.rferl.org/32cd9fd3-77ce-4880-b7ad-bea8dddc2d52_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in Karbala, one of countless security points in Iraq.
![A man who lost a leg in the Iraq War walks through Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, reputed to be the largest cemetery in the world. There are believed to be more than 5 million bodies interred there.](https://gdb.rferl.org/3e5fd579-fdba-405d-8cf7-5287d53fc85c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man who lost a leg in the Iraq War walks through Wadi-us-Salaam cemetery, reputed to be the largest cemetery in the world. There are believed to be more than 5 million bodies interred there.
![A mosque in the Shi'ite-majority city of Najaf](https://gdb.rferl.org/49acd808-8c1e-4de3-90e6-351db9c60f96_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A mosque in the Shi'ite-majority city of Najaf
![Najaf is undergoing widespread reconstruction in areas damaged by fighting.](https://gdb.rferl.org/638558fd-f4d9-426d-9a5d-a1823e6d9dcf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Najaf is undergoing widespread reconstruction in areas damaged by fighting.
![A trader at his shop in central Najaf.](https://gdb.rferl.org/16cdae8b-a87f-450d-accd-f6e366d7cf50_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A trader at his shop in central Najaf.
![A pilgrim carries her evening shopping after visiting the tomb of Imam Ali in Najaf, one of the holiest sites for Shi'ite Muslims.](https://gdb.rferl.org/6c74b0a4-d72c-4eb2-b240-23defe8eab9f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A pilgrim carries her evening shopping after visiting the tomb of Imam Ali in Najaf, one of the holiest sites for Shi'ite Muslims.
![A father and daughter with limited mobility receive assistance while visiting holy Shi'ite sites in Karbala.](https://gdb.rferl.org/73c6c2d1-ea70-46cc-8c8c-35de641f84c4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A father and daughter with limited mobility receive assistance while visiting holy Shi'ite sites in Karbala.
![Millions of Shi'ite pilgrims visit Karbala each year, mainly during the festival of Ashura.](https://gdb.rferl.org/889453f4-16c4-455d-aade-3fb66cb24954_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Millions of Shi'ite pilgrims visit Karbala each year, mainly during the festival of Ashura.
![An artist paints a portrait in a city square.](https://gdb.rferl.org/23856fb4-6a99-4557-96b7-d8bd43ed4285_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An artist paints a portrait in a city square.
![These children are accompanying their parents on a visit to holy shrines in Karbala, but their attention is elsewhere.](https://gdb.rferl.org/55b5b866-7f15-49d1-ad9c-074177713c6a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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These children are accompanying their parents on a visit to holy shrines in Karbala, but their attention is elsewhere.
![A construction worker in Kirkuk enjoys some free time in a tea house.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a40c12e8-66bc-4b9a-ba6e-1b7ae130af54_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A construction worker in Kirkuk enjoys some free time in a tea house.
![Paintings for sale in Irbil, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region](https://gdb.rferl.org/bd51409e-6b49-4b6a-b094-360e0751140c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Paintings for sale in Irbil, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region
![Traders drink tea in a market in Irbil.](https://gdb.rferl.org/f3ff88a0-6258-43c4-8967-9febab200311_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Traders drink tea in a market in Irbil.
![A woman walks through a city square in Irbil. Atilay notes that women in the Kurdish region seem to enjoy greater freedom of movement and dress than in many parts of Iraq.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a6b6cd43-953b-48f3-b632-44b9fe7cc0a4_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A woman walks through a city square in Irbil. Atilay notes that women in the Kurdish region seem to enjoy greater freedom of movement and dress than in many parts of Iraq.
![Venders in Kirkuk, a city with a large Kurdish and Turkoman population](https://gdb.rferl.org/9bdd1fde-0232-4224-b3c2-20c858add9a8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Venders in Kirkuk, a city with a large Kurdish and Turkoman population
![A trader takes a smoke break near the Kirkuk Citadel.](https://gdb.rferl.org/47972b30-968d-40d2-82eb-bf8f9b5b0e0c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A trader takes a smoke break near the Kirkuk Citadel.