Suleimaniya, Iraq - Republic of
A STREET VENDOR SELLS PRAYER BEADS IN SULEIMANIYA.
A street vendor sells prayer beads in the centre of the town of Suleimanya, some 330 km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad, January 31, 2004. North of the bombs and the chaos, the Kurdish city of Suleimaniya is worlds apart from the Iraq that dominates the headlines. Shops with bright neon signs and sharp window displays line wide, clean streets; traffic lights flash red and green; women walk unveiled through the city. At night the trees are hung with colored light bulbs, the restaurants full of diners. TO GO WITH STORY IRAQ-KURDISTAN-GENERAL FEATURE REUTERS/Faleh Kheiber REUTERS OP/WS