In his series “Ballerinas of Cairo”, photographer Mohamed Taher documents Egyptian dancers making the city streets their stage – pirouetting, leaping and posing their way through their country’s sprawling capital. The photos are, at first glance, stunning snapshots of a city’s vibrant culture in motion. (Photo by Mohamed Taher/Ballerinas of Cairo)

Some Iraqi candidates for Miss Iraq beauty contest pose in front of the Ishtar Gate at the ancient archaeological site of Babylon, outside the modern city of Hilla, south of the capital Baghdad on December 17, 2015. The beauty contest, which is the first one in more than 40 years, aims to boost tourism in the city and will take place on December 19, 2015. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

Rebel fighters fire towards positions of regime forces in Ramussa on the southwestern edges of Syria's northern city of Aleppo on August 6, 2016. Syrian rebels said they have broken a three-week government siege of second city Aleppo, turning the tables on Russian-backed regime forces who are now on the defensive. (Photo by Fadi Al-Halabi/AFP Photo)

Satirical sculptures burn during the traditional Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain, on March 19, 2014. Every year the city celebrates the ancient “Las Fallas” fiesta, a noisy week that is full of fireworks and processions in honor of Saint Joseph that ends on midnight of March 19, burning large satiric figures displayed around the streets of the city. (Photo by Alberto Saiz/Associated Press)

A woman is led aside as her partner is detained by Ukrainian security forces for being aggressive at an army checkpoint in the southeastern port city of Mariupol, on May 11, 2014. Residents’ attitudes appear to have hardened considerably with the deaths of dozens of pro-Russian activists in the city of Odessa this month and with reports that troops fired at a crowd in Mariupol last week. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

A bodybuilder applies tan on another participant during the Mr and Mrs East Africa Natural Body Building Contest at Rupaz Gym in Eldoret, western Kenya, on October 8, 2022. 168 bodybuilders from Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenia participate in this competition in Eldoret, a city known as “The City of Champions” for producing some of the best long distance runners in the world, that has not hosted a bodybuilding event since 2015. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt/AFP Photo)

Participants take part in the 14th annual “No Trousers Tube Ride” event on the London Underground on January 12, 2025. The event, staged by Improv Everywhere, takes place every January in New York City and has since expanded internationally. What began as a small prank with just seven participants has grown into a global celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities, including London, joining in each year. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Retired builder Vasili Sidamonidze, 70, poses for a portrait at his home in Gori, Georgia, December 6, 2016. “Unfortunately, Stalin is not popular nowadays. Our people don't respect him. Only we, members of the (Communist) Party, respect him”, Sidamonidze said. “I always try to attend Stalin's birthday anniversaries in Gori. Unfortunately many people don't want to join us even if they live nearby. They look at us from their windows”. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)