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
1
A militiaman takes a lunch break while guarding the Al-Madain, the site of an ancient metropolis spanning the Tigris River south of Baghdad.
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Military units guard a historic building at the Al-Madain.
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A military vehicle stands at a checkpoint in southern Baghdad after a heavy rain.
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This government building in Kirkuk was largely destroyed by a suicide bombing in which more than 30 people died.
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A soldier stands guard at a checkpoint in Karbala, one of countless security points in Iraq.
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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.
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A mosque in the Shi'ite-majority city of Najaf
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Najaf is undergoing widespread reconstruction in areas damaged by fighting.
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A trader at his shop in central Najaf.
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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.
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A father and daughter with limited mobility receive assistance while visiting holy Shi'ite sites in Karbala.
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Millions of Shi'ite pilgrims visit Karbala each year, mainly during the festival of Ashura.
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An artist paints a portrait in a city square.
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These children are accompanying their parents on a visit to holy shrines in Karbala, but their attention is elsewhere.
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A construction worker in Kirkuk enjoys some free time in a tea house.
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Paintings for sale in Irbil, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region
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Traders drink tea in a market in Irbil.
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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.
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Venders in Kirkuk, a city with a large Kurdish and Turkoman population
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A trader takes a smoke break near the Kirkuk Citadel.