Libya after the revolution
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A checkpoint in the town of Ras Lanuf, outside the town's oil refinery. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Iman al-Mughrabi, a prominent Islamic scholar, addresses a crowd of mostly men after Friday prayers in front of Benghazi's central courthouse. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Ahmed Bushnaf sits on the curb outside his home in Sirte, the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi's hometown. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Misrata's largest prison houses some 860 prisoners of war, most of them captured in towns loyal to the late Libyan dictator Gaddafi. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Tawergha was a pro-Gaddafi town that participated in the violent assault on the rebel stronghold of Misrata. Reconciliation between winners and losers of Libya's war is a major challenge for the new state. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Schoolchildren gather in their middle school courtyard in the eastern Libyan town of Darnah before starting their morning classes. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Tripoli Street in Misrata. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Graffiti on the inner wall of a home in Sirte reads: "Ali took revenge. See you later." Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
A Libyan man inside his ruined apartment as the result of heavy shelling. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
The families of Libyans who were killed accidentally during a Nato airstrike in Tripoli last June protest outside of the interim prime minister's office in the Libyan capital. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Hanan al-Magwb hits her guests with hardball questions about Libya's upcoming elections on a weeknight airing of "Listen To Us", her evening news show on Libya Youth FM, broadcast out of Benghazi. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Mohamed, a schoolteacher, prays at dusk on the rooftop of his friend's war-ravaged house in the coastal city of Sirte. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Haroun Milad and his brother Moussa survey the wreckage of Gaddafi's once impenetrable residential compound, Bab al-Aziziya, in Tripoli. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Visitors outside the newly-opened museum in Misrata. The Ali Hassan Jaber Martyr Exhbit is named for an Al-Jazeera cameraman who was killed covering Libya's revolution. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time -
Reem is a Syrian refugee from Homs standing on Libya's coast, looking out at the calm Mediterranean Sea. Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR for Time
Libya holds its first democratic election in July. No one knows how many bumps lie in the road ahead. But despite all those challenges, and the years of heartbreak behind them, Libyans seem hopeful.
This content was published on July 6, 2012
Museums have been erected to commemorate the battles fought and the martyrs lost. Schools are back in session. Hundreds of former rebels are training to join the new national army. People are even talking about tourism and business. Women are discussing women’s rights and lecturing men on politics. Where the weak transitional government is failing, ordinary citizens are helping one another rebuild. Young people are getting creative. All this induces optimism; optimism of the wild, determined sort. (All Images by Yuri Kozyrev/ Noor for Time)
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