![A Sri Lankan man places a saffron robe over a Buddha statue at a temple in Colombo on May 22, 2013. Sri Lankan Buddhists are preparing to celebrate Vesak, which commemorates the birth of Buddha, his attaining enlightenment and his passing away on the full moon day of May which falls on May 24 this year.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/f69d465cc34f14be11dded1f2fc3cc3e/tumblr_mn7rd5z59Y1r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
A Sri Lankan man places a saffron robe over a Buddha statue at a temple in Colombo on May 22, 2013. Sri Lankan Buddhists are preparing to celebrate Vesak, which commemorates the birth of Buddha, his attaining enlightenment and his passing away on the full moon day of May which falls on May 24 this year.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images]
Source: fotojournalismus
![A Sri Lankan child holds bananas to feed wild elephants, separated by an electric fence at the Udawalawa Wildlife Sanctuary, in Udawalawa, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.
[Credit : Eranga Jayawardena/AP]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9kyv8KD5H1r44q44o1_r2_1280.jpg)
A Sri Lankan child holds bananas to feed wild elephants, separated by an electric fence at the Udawalawa Wildlife Sanctuary, in Udawalawa, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012.
[Credit : Eranga Jayawardena/AP]
Source: fotojournalismus
The Sri Lankan civil war lasted for a quarter of a century, from 1983 to 2009, with an estimated hundred thousand people killed. In 2011, over eight hundred and fifty-five thousand tourists visited the island—an all-time record—and the government hopes to draw 2.6 million annual tourists by 2016.
The German photographer Yannik Willing has been documenting Sri Lanka’s post-war normalization. Click-through for a selection of Willing’s work, and for more from him on the rapid changes in Sri Lanka: http://nyr.kr/N1I5QV
(via newyorker)
![A Sri Lankan vendor displays clay pots in the Colombo suburb of Biyagama on April 4, 2012, ahead of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Most households usher in the New Year on April 13 and 14 by boiling milk in a brand new clay pot at an astrologically auspicious time.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1yoomsrQ51r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
A Sri Lankan vendor displays clay pots in the Colombo suburb of Biyagama on April 4, 2012, ahead of the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Most households usher in the New Year on April 13 and 14 by boiling milk in a brand new clay pot at an astrologically auspicious time.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP / Getty Images]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1nygmMBua1r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
Former Tamil Tiger rebels prepare backstage during a rehabilitation official ceremony fashion show in Colombo on March 29. The program to release nearly 400 former combatants to their families. Officials said more than 10,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released to their families since the war ended in May 2009.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP / Getty Images]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Men washed elephants for the Perahera Festival in a pool in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Feb. 6. Dozens of elephants will participate in a procession of traditional dancers, fire twirlers and musicians.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyzt3lQEk51r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
Men washed elephants for the Perahera Festival in a pool in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Feb. 6. Dozens of elephants will participate in a procession of traditional dancers, fire twirlers and musicians.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]
Source: fotojournalismus
![University students protested in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. Students were asking authorities to remove Vice Chancellor N.L.A Karunaratne of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxchu4Yfu81r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
University students protested in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012. Students were asking authorities to remove Vice Chancellor N.L.A Karunaratne of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Tamil guerillas being trained. Sri Lanka is the scene of a bitter struggle between the Sinhalese, the major ethnic group, and the Tamil minority, 1986.
[Credit : James Nachtwey]
[via]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwrk3tzGe11r44q44o1_400.jpg)
Tamil guerillas being trained. Sri Lanka is the scene of a bitter struggle between the Sinhalese, the major ethnic group, and the Tamil minority, 1986.
[Credit : James Nachtwey]
[via]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Jumping the flames is part of the guerilla training and indicates courage in the Tamil tradition, Sri Lanka, 1986.
[Credit : James Nachtwey]
[via]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwrk83mnez1r44q44o1_400.jpg)
Jumping the flames is part of the guerilla training and indicates courage in the Tamil tradition, Sri Lanka, 1986.
[Credit : James Nachtwey]
[via]
Source: fotojournalismus
![A mahout washes an elephant in a pool at Gangaramaya Buddhist temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 19, 2011.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwgypiWFEE1r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
A mahout washes an elephant in a pool at Gangaramaya Buddhist temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 19, 2011.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A snake charmer performs at the Galle Face Green area of the Sri Lankan capital.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvu88dkEUH1r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A snake charmer performs at the Galle Face Green area of the Sri Lankan capital.
[Credit : Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Foreign tourists ride an elephant during a sightseeing tour in the ancient city of Sigiriya on December 2, 2011. The number of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka has swelled since the island ended a 37-year separatist conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009. Sri Lanka greeted 53,636 tourist in June 2011, 20 percent more than a year earlier, mainly driven by visitors from India and East Asia.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvlcu5rFf61r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
Foreign tourists ride an elephant during a sightseeing tour in the ancient city of Sigiriya on December 2, 2011. The number of foreign tourists visiting Sri Lanka has swelled since the island ended a 37-year separatist conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009. Sri Lanka greeted 53,636 tourist in June 2011, 20 percent more than a year earlier, mainly driven by visitors from India and East Asia.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty]
Source: fotojournalismus
![A Sri Lankan prisoner looks in a mirror before performing a traditional dance at the main Welikada prison in Colombo November 17, 2011. The cultural event is organized by the prisons department as part of the rehabilitation program for convicts, according to officials.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lutjhg1BBN1r44q44o1_1280.jpg)
A Sri Lankan prisoner looks in a mirror before performing a traditional dance at the main Welikada prison in Colombo November 17, 2011. The cultural event is organized by the prisons department as part of the rehabilitation program for convicts, according to officials.
[Credit : Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty]
Source: fotojournalismus
![Sri Lanka, 1995.
[Credit : Steve McCurry]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luk70f0M611r44q44o1_r1_1280.jpg)
