Northern Iraq cafe paints history in wall-to-wall photos

Even before speaking with Mam Khalil, it is clear he loves photographs — they cover almost every inch of his cafe in northern Iraq, providing windows into the country’s history.

The pictures on the walls go all the way to the ceiling, overlooking patrons as they sip tea, smoke cigarettes or fill their spoons with mastaw, a yogurt-like dish served in bowls with ice.

Though small and located on a sidestreet in the city’s covered market, the cafe is well-known in Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, attracting everyone from ordinary citizens to senior politicians.

“I don’t love money, but I love photos,” says its owner, an ageing man with a thin grey moustache who is known by the affectionate title of “Mam”, meaning “uncle” in Kurdish.

Mam Khalil’s love affair with pictures began when he was still a young man.

He began collecting them, turning the cafe into a gallery awash with photos that portray Iraq as it moved through monarchy, dictatorship and into its current fragile democracy.

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Northern Iraq cafe paints history in wall-to-wall photos