Tuesday April 28, 2009, Mazar-E-Sharif, Balkh, Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Blue Mosque

The Shrine of Hazrat Ali is a pilgrimage site and center for cultural life in the city of Mazar-E-Sharif. The shrine was full of Afghans on a holiday to celebrate Mujahideen day, the celebration of the fall of Soviet occupation in 1992, and the 40th day of the Persian New Year celebration.

Women wearing burkas are among the Afghan families gathered in the courtyard of the Shrine of Hazrat during two days of holidays in Afghanistan.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Wednesday April 15, 2009, Dhyaht Village, Wardak, Afghanistan

Americans assert presence in Kandahar-Kabul corridor

American soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Maintain Division are setting up patrol bases in the Nerkh district, in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. U.S. troops are moving into valleys along the road between Kabul and Kandahar, where crime and Taliban checkpoints have become a chronic problem.

Afghan villagers look at American soldiers moving through their market during a patrol. The additional American troops being sent to Afghanistan is putting American soldiers in remote valleys only rarely patrolled by soldiers in the last eight years.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday July 11, 2010, Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghans watch the World Cup Final

Darulaman Palace sits on the western outskirts of Kabul down the once grand four-mile avenue. Built by King Amanullah Khan in the 1920's the palace was intended to be the modern symbol of Afghanistan and the seat of Parliament. The palace suffered several fires over the years and was destroyed during the civil war after 1992. The palace sits as a reminder of Kabul's brutal past although there are efforts to reconstruct the palace to house the Parliament there once again.

The glow from a small black and white television illuminates Afghan National Army soldiers, Sergeant Naqib, age 35, Private Mahrobadin, age 21, left, and Naieem, right, as they sit on a bed in the bunker guarding the Darulaman Palace watching the World Cup championship match between Spain and the Netherlands. Sergeant Naqib was once a coach for a team in the Kargah district located west of Kabul and was rooting for Germany or Brazil to win the World Cup at the onset of the tournament but was rooting for Spain in the final match.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday June 20, 2010, Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan

Marine Jacquemin visits the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC).

Journalist Marine Jacquemin visits the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Jacquemin has visited Afghanistan since 1996 and remembers the grounds where the hospital now stands, being littered with rockets and tanks as part of the front lines of the civil war then. Now, one of Afghanistan's most technologically advanced and expertly staffed children's hospitals stands in place of those memories. The post 9/11 war on terror has brought a flood of aid and government money but poverty, access to sanitation, clean water, infant mortality and genetic deformities plague the people of Afghanistan. With a desire to give something back to the war plagued country, Jacquemin has tirelessly championed the children's hospital, which administered its first operation on Afghan children in November of 2005.

Gul Mohamad, left, and his wife, hold down their 2 month old son, Amman who is getting treatment because he can't swallow Milk, as X-ray technician, Abdul Saboor Zarif, center, tells them they will have to hold their son still during the x-ray. The French Medical Institute for Children offers some of the most advance technology and most skilled medical staff in Kabul. Some of the technology available at the FMIC is one radiology unit including CT scanning, general radiology, one medical analysis laboratory and one pharmaceutical laboratory.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Friday June 4, 2010, Marjah, Helmand, Afghanistan

US Marines patrol former Taliban stronghold of Marjah

Four months after a major offensive to secure Marjah, the 3rd battalion, 6th Marines continue to face resistance as they attempt to win over the population in the rural area which is a major poppy production center. The Marines issue identification cards to local in an effort to be able to recognize locals from outsiders who my be Taliban traveling in the area.

A farmer is registered by Marines into a system that records the image fingerprint, and Iris scan of local farmers and issues them an identification card before being take part in a program designed to convince farmers not to grow poppy. The program pays farmers to not grow poppy and also offers them subsidized seed and fertilizer.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Friday May 7, 2010, Karizak, Kandahar, Afghanistan

U.S. Army soldiers raid a home in Kandahar

The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment operates out of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) just off of Highway 1, 40 miles west of Kandahar City in Southern Afghanistan. Alpha company set out for the village of Karizak in the dark of night and waited outside the village until sunrise. The U.S. military's rules of engagement do not allow the soldiers to raid homes in the dead of night in an effort to counter the bad reputation "night raids" have gotten. Alpha company raided a rich villager's home after receiving information that the man was housing Taliban who were moving suicide bombers and roadside bombs in the area. After raiding the home, the solders found dozens of bags of raw poppy tar ready for processing but no bomb making material. The soldiers burned the raw poppy product and took the man into custody.

A child living in a compound suspected of harboring Taliban bomb makers look at the American solders as she is moved to a separate room so it can be searched. Bags of Poppy tar were found after knocking down a false wall exposing a hidden room.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Monday April 26, 2010, Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan

Soccer in Kabul

Everyday a group of 20 kids emerge from their classes at the local grade, trade and technical school at the once royal, now war-torn grounds of Darulaman Palace rain or shine, to play soccer. Samir is the oldest of the group and is head coach of the team named Kakashow, or sunshine in Dari. Pooling their money together, the team bought practice jerseys, pads for the goalie and a whistle.

Members of the Kakashow team pick teams for the day's practice match. The two most experienced player serve as coaches and team captains organizing the players.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Thursday March 25, 2010, Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan

Daily life in Kabul

The Chamana Huzari stadium is a sports park used by Afghans to play Cricket, ride horses, have picnics, drive motorbikes and play games. Rural herders sell their animals at a roadside market outside of the stadium

A herder leaps across a lake of sewage to his herd of A fatty butt sheep

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday March 16, 2010, Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan army officers sworn into service at top military academy

Two hundred and twelve officer cadets swore their oath of allegiance to serve Afghanistan in a ceremony at the National Military Academy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The largest military academy in Afghanistan graduates officers for the developing Afghan military once a year. Later in the week the cadets will receive their commission and be deployed to fight the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

Members of the Afghan Army's color-guard stand at attention in front of a missile at the National Military Academy during an Affirmation Ceremony for graduating class of 2010.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday November 15, 2009, Adirah, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Canadian forces mentor Afghan Army unit

Canadian forces from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry operate in a small seven man team as Operational Mentor and Liaison Teams (OMLT) for the Afghan Army's 1st Brigade, 205 Corps. The Afghan unit is under manned with only 20 Afghan soldiers available to patrol. The mostly ethnic Tajik and Hazara soldiers find it hard to connect with the Pashtuns of the district they are charged to protect.

Master Corporal Gilles-Remi Middelson, 29, patrols with the Afghan National Army troop on a foot patrol near the village of Adirah. The patrol searched the grape fields looking for weapons caches.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday April 14, 2009, Dhyaht Village, Wardak, Afghanistan

Americans assert presence in Kandahar-Kabul corridor

American soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Maintain Division are setting up patrol bases in the Nerkh district, in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. U.S. troops are moving into valleys along the road between Kabul and Kandahar, where crime and Taliban checkpoints have become a chronic problem.

Under the arch of a rainbow, Afghan villagers watch American soldiers attempt to pull one of their armored vehicles out of a ditch in the Nerkh Valley. April rains have made many of the roads hazardous for the heavy American vehicles.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday April 14, 2009, Dhyaht Village, Wardak, Afghanistan

Americans assert presence in Kandahar-Kabul corridor

American soldiers with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Maintain Division are setting up patrol bases in the Nerkh district, in Wardak Province, Afghanistan. U.S. troops are moving into valleys along the road between Kabul and Kandahar, where crime and Taliban checkpoints have become a chronic problem.

An elderly Afghan villager watches as American soldiers attempt to pull one of their armored vehicles out of a ditch in the Nerkh Valley.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday January 25, 2009, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq

U.S. and Iraqi troops prepare for elections

Iraqi National Police take part in physical fitness competitions during a joint training session with American soldiers from A company, 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, at their Combat Outpost in the western neighborhood of Baquba during the week leading up to provincial elections. Over two dozen polling site are within a ten minute drive from the American base where they will be during election day on January 31, to support the Iraqi Army and police on election day, however, the American's plan to stay off the streets to help promote the idea that the Iraqi government is running the election.

An Iraqi National Police officer carries a colleague on his back during a physical fitness competition.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday November 16, 2008, Siwa, Egypt

Egypt's Siwa Oasis eco lodge

An eight-hour drive from the crowded and honking streets of Cairo is the serene resort named for the Berber word for White Mountain, Adrere Amellal. Settled at the foot of a majestic mountain, a still salt lake and the Great Sand Sea of the Sahara, guests can have a truly organic experience. Dr. Mounir Nematalla, a preservationist and businessman, designed the resort to operate in harmony and in support of the local environment and population. As a result, Siwan waiters serve guests locally grown or purchased food, and guests can purchase locally embroidered clothing and spend their evenings eating by candle light. Adventures, offered as part of the room price, include the town of Siwa, where guests can interact with the local culture and visit sites such as the 13th-century ruins of Shali, bathe in Cleopatra's bath, or visit the Temple of the Oracle Ammun, made famous by Alexander the Great. Drives into the Great Sand Sea are lead in the afternoon by Abdullah Baghi, who times each activity of sand surfing, petrified forest and hot springs exploring to conclude with a hot pot of organically grown mint tea as the sun sets. For an extra cost, guests can explore the dunes on the backs of retired Polo horses. A variety of fruits and vegetables served at the resort are grown on the grounds of the eco lodge including, Swiss chard, olives, the sycamore fig or Ficus Sycamorus, zucchini, citrus and dates.

Local Siwa farmers harvested food on the farm of the The Adrere Amellal lodge. The Adrere Amellal lodge is much more than a unique desert resort. The lodge is the showpiece of Siwa's Sustainable Development Initiative that manages private investment and commercial projects in a sustainable way. Adrere Amellal serves that goal by hiring hundreds of workers in a wide array of industries to support the lodge. The lodge grows a variety of fruits and vegetables on the grounds that are served at the resort including, Swiss chard, olives, the sycamore fig or Ficus Sycamorus, zucchini, citrus and dates.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Thursday November 13, 2008, Siwa, Egypt

Egypt's Siwa Oasis eco lodge

An eight-hour drive from the crowded and honking streets of Cairo is the serene resort named for the Berber word for White Mountain, Adrere Amellal. Settled at the foot of a majestic mountain, a still salt lake and the Great Sand Sea of the Sahara, guests can have a truly organic experience. Dr. Mounir Nematalla, a preservationist and businessman, designed the resort to operate in harmony and in support of the local environment and population. As a result, Siwan waiters serve guests locally grown or purchased food, and guests can purchase locally embroidered clothing and spend their evenings eating by candle light. Adventures, offered as part of the room price, include the town of Siwa, where guests can interact with the local culture and visit sites such as the 13th-century ruins of Shali, bathe in Cleopatra's bath, or visit the Temple of the Oracle Ammun, made famous by Alexander the Great. Drives into the Great Sand Sea are lead in the afternoon by Abdullah Baghi, who times each activity of sand surfing, petrified forest and hot springs exploring to conclude with a hot pot of organically grown mint tea as the sun sets. For an extra cost, guests can explore the dunes on the backs of retired Polo horses. A variety of fruits and vegetables served at the resort are grown on the grounds of the eco lodge including, Swiss chard, olives, the sycamore fig or Ficus Sycamorus, zucchini, citrus and dates.

Torches and the full moon illuminate the royal sweet which features two floors three beds and two bathrooms with a bathtub. The bath tub was installed for a stay by British Crown Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles in 2006.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday October 19, 2008, Samarra, Salahaddin, Iraq

Reconstruction efforts in Samarra.

A Soccer team from Baghdad came to Samarra to play against the Samarra team. the game attracted thousands to the still damaged stadium. That thousands felt safe enough to gather and were not targeted by a suicide bomber was a major event in the city.

Body builders with red doused with red dye to enhance their muscles throw poses for VIPs gathers at the Samarra Soccer Stadium before the first soccer game since fighting subsided in Samarra, Iraq on Sunday, October 19, 2008.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Sunday October 19, 2008, Samarra, Salahaddin, Iraq

Reconstruction efforts in Samarra.

A Soccer team from Baghdad came to Samarra to play against the Samarra team. the game attracted thousands to the still damaged stadium. That thousands felt safe enough to gather and were not targeted by a suicide bomber was a major event in the city.

Lunch for VIPs is served by pink clad servers during a game between soccer teams from Samarra and Baghdad in Samarra, Iraq on Sunday, October 19, 2008.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday September 30, 2008, Samarra, Iraq

Samarra slowly rebuilds after fierce fighting

The battered Iraqi city of Samarra slowly rebuilds as violence decreases. The city's Al-Askari shrine was bombed by Al Qaeda militants on February 22, 2006 and set off sectarian bloodshed all over Iraq. With help of the UN and a committee from Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's office, workers are rebuilding the golden tiled dome that stood over a Shia tomb. Although there is a focused effort to rebuild the shrine the neighborhoods surrounding the Shrine remain damaged from the fierce fighting between American and Al Qaeda forces that battled for the city.

The impressive and delicate spiral minaret, known in Iraq as Malwiyah, of the Great Mosque remains standing in the battered city of Samarra,. The minaret was built in 847 AD by the Caliph of al-Mutawakil and stands next to the walls of the mosque that remains standing. The minaret is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Saturday September 27, 2008, Baghdad, Iraq

Blast walls come down as Baghdad violence eases

A crane worker stands on top of a blast wall while helping to move it to open al Kifah Street and opening the border between the Sunni and Shia parts of the Fadhil neighborhood of Baghdad. The Fadhil neighborhood was a center of sectarian and militia activity but security has improved in the neighborhood enough to take down the blast wall on the main street that is traditionally a main shopping street for basic industrial goods. Members of the Sunni and Shiite Awakening councils, Iraqi military and US Army came together after Iftar, the meal breaking the fast during the month of Ramadan, to celebrate the event.

A worker stands atop a section of blast wall as a crane is used to disassemble the structure.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Wednesday September 17, 2008, Baghdad, Iraq

Iraqi Special Forces train with help of US military

Special forces soldiers of the Iraqi Army's 24th Brigade, 6th Division conduct physical training at their base in the Abu Ghraib neighborhood of Baghdad. The base trains Iraqi Special Forces soldiers with the help of American Military Transition Teams in physical training, weapons, and tactics.

Iraqi special forces soldiers during physical training excercises at their base in the Abu Ghraib neighborhood

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Wednesday September 3, 2008, Baghdad, Iraq

Handover of Sunni Awakening project to Iraqi control raises questions

Awakening council leader in the Adhamiya neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Ali Abdul Jabbar talks about the injustice of the arrest warrant he heard was issued for him while waiting for the Iraq Army to show up at his office on Wednesday September 3, 2008. Amid uncertainty about the handover of the Sunni Awakening project from U.S. Military to Iraq Government control, Awakening members went on strike to protest the rumored arrest warrant for one of the leaders of their group, Ali Abdul Jabbar. The strike lasted only half a day but was enough to prompt the Iraqi commander in the area to make a personal visit to ease tensions and clarify that the military only wanted Jabbar for questioning in the setting of roadside bombs in his area. The strike was an example of how tight tensions are after during the transition.

Awakening Council leader Ali Abdul Jabbar holds a photo of the former leader of the council, Farouq Abdul Sattar, who was killed by a suicide bomber in August of 2008.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Thursday May 29, 2008, Usim, Giza, Egypt

Egyptians battle in bread lines

Egyptians battle each other for position in lines at a subsidized bread distribution center in Usim. Each person is allowed to receive 20 pieces of subsidized bread at 5 piasters each, less than one US cent. Recent shortages have Egyptians fighting for their share. Wheat has been in short supply, which has raised the price of bread leaving most residents, who live on roughly $30 a month, desperate to feed their families.

Egyptian residents of the city of Usim battle each other to put their head through the window in front of the bread line at a subsidized bread distribution center

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Monday March 3, 2008, Peshawar, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan

Peshawar Islamists lose ground following Pakistani elections

Second year female students at Khyber Medical College in Peshawar view slides of human cells during a laboratory medical class. Although Peshawar serves as a gateway to the violent tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan the city boasts one of the best medical colleges in the country. In the recent elections the Awami National Party (ANP), made up of largely Pashtun nationalists, has gained support over religious based political leadership.

Veiled female Pakistani medical student viewing slide of cells with microscope

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday February 26, 2008, Gaddani, Baluchistan, Pakistan

Pakistan's ship breaking yards

Laborers dismantling an aged tanker for scrap metal at the Gaddani Beach ship breaking yards in Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. All usable items are taken from the ships before the cutting begins. The average ship dismantled at the yard weighs about 18,000 tons and can be as large as 85,000 tons. The ships are beached and pulled on to shore with cables and chains as welders use cutting torches to dismantle them bit-by-bit. The highest grade pieces of steel from the ship decks and hulls sells for about 60 Pakistani Rupees a kilogram to factories that turn much of the metal into rebar which is in high demand in the booming construction of the gulf countries. Most workers, who earn roughly two dollars a day, come from the North West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Province where unemployment is high and Islamic fundamentalism is flourishing.

Laborers with piece of scrap metal in Pakistan's ship breaking yards

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Saturday March 13, 2010, Charn Jir, Helmand, Afghanistan

Poppy eradication program in southern Afghanistan

Dozens of tractors are being used in Southern Afghanistan to plow Poppy fields in the first weeks of the growing season. The tractors were accompanied by hundreds of Afghan National Police who looked for land mines and protected the tractors from attacks from angry Taliban as they plowed poppy. The program is funded and coordinated with the Western forces in the area. Eight years into the fight against the Taliban, the Afghan government is targeting the Taliban Poppy trade by pressuring farmers in a three-tiered approach. First, Tribal elders are asked to pressure farmers into not growing Poppy under moral grounds, second, farmers are offered wheat seed and fertilizer as an alternative crop, and third, the tractors are sent in to plow under the Poppy fields if they have not complied. The Helmand River feeds the agricultural fields around Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province. The river delta is fertile ground for growing Poppy, which fuels the Taliban insurgency. Afghan and Western governments have been in a struggle to lure the area farmers away from growing Poppy and squeeze Taliban funding.

Children ride a bike home on the streets of Lashkar Gah.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Tuesday September 30, 2008, Samarra, Iraq

Samarra slowly rebuilds after fierce fighting

The battered Iraqi city of Samarra slowly rebuilds as violence decreases. The city's Al-Askari shrine was bombed by Al Qaeda militants on February 22, 2006 and set off sectarian bloodshed all over Iraq. With help of the UN and a committee from Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's office, workers are rebuilding the golden tiled dome that stood over a Shia tomb. Although there is a focused effort to rebuild the shrine the neighborhoods surrounding the Shrine remain damaged from the fierce fighting between American and Al Qaeda forces that battled for the city.

A security guard walks past a twisted pile of gold trim pulled from the ruins of the Al-Askari Shrine complex in Samarra

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Saturday September 27, 2008, Baghdad, Iraq

Blast walls come down as Baghdad violence eases

As armed Awakening members watch from the roof tops, residents play music and dance in the streets after blast walls were moved on al Kifah Street, opening the border between the Sunni and Shia parts of the Fadhil neighborhood of Baghdad. The Fadhil neighborhood was a center of sectarian and militia activity but security has improved in the neighborhood enough to take down the blast wall on the main street that is traditionally a main shopping street for basic industrial goods. Members of the Sunni and Shiite Awakening councils, Iraqi military and US Army came together after Iftar, the meal breaking the fast during the month of Ramadan, to celebrate the event.

A jubilant resident plays a trumpet as local residents gather to watch blast walls come down.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Monday September 22, 2008, Baghdad, Iraq

Survivors thank God after Baghdad car bomb kills 5

A car bomb rocked the Baghdad neighborhood of Karada, killing 5 and wounding 8. Witnesses say the blast was targeting an Iraqi police patrol passing by.

Jamal Faraj, age 50, carries his daughter Mariam, age 3, past a butchered sheep offered as a sacrifice to thank God for their good fortune of surviving the car bomb blast

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Friday January 30, 2009, Baquba, Diyala, Iraq

US troops search palm groves for weapons

American soldiers search the Riggah Burhitz area of southern Baquba for weapon caches. US forces have received small arms fire and found mines in the area. As Iraq Army and Police maintain the bulk of the regular inner city security American troops conduct weapons sweeps and patrols.

Specialist Brandon Dupree with A company, 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, lugs a 240 machine gun during a sweep for weapon caches.

Credit: Max Becherer / Polaris

Max Becherer

Max Becherer is a freelance photojournalist, represented by Polaris Images since 2004, dedicated to covering international news and the Middle East. He is widely published with images appearing on the cover of Time Magazine, the New York Times and a variety of other newspapers. Since working with Polaris, Becherer has covered Africa and the war in Iraq. In 2006, Max was awarded First Place in the main category of People and Events in the 2006 Poland Press Photography Contest, for his images of Iraqi mourners during the funeral of a man killed during the national elections of 2005.

During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Becherer was embedded with Marine and Army units to report on local military members for the Arizona Daily Star, a newspaper for which he worked for three years. While working at the Arizona Daily Star, Becherer covered the American Southwest including issues involving the U.S./Mexico border for which he won several awards.

Becherer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Photojournalism from California's San Jose State University in 2000. He interned at several newspapers, including The Boston Globe, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Concord Monitor. He attended the Eddie Adams workshop in 1999 and for his performance there, won a scholarship from the Los Angeles Times and an assignment from Life Magazine.

Personal web site of Max Becherer