@EverydayMiddleEast uses Instagram to fight stereotypes

Canadian photographer Lindsay Mackenzie was working in the Middle East and North Africa when she noticed how biased and inaccurate international media representations of the region were, as media outlets were only interested in her work if it supported negative portrayals.

Inspired by the Everyday Africa project, Mackenzie decided to rally a group of talented photographers working in the Middle East to launch her own counter-media project on Instagram, Everyday Middle East .

Her goal was to show the world what the everyday Middle East truly looks like in order to "work against the stereotypes and visual tropes that are so prevalent about the region in the mainstream media," as the project's Facebook page indicates.

A year and 111,000 followers later, we take a look at some of the successful Instagram feed's most beautiful images that showcase what the Middle East and North Africa are actually like, in all their beauty, diversity and uniqueness.

Many of the photos contributed to the feed strove to show the diversity of the Middle East's landscape and scenery, fighting the pervasive desert and camel stereotype.

A beautiful photo of the view in Lebanon's Mzaar Ski area.

Beautiful photo of luscious green mountains in Halabja in Iraq.

A gorgeous view of a quiet sunrise in a beach in Salalah, Oman.

The feed was flooded with images showing women in the Middle East actively participating in their societies, and showing women smiling, laughing and enjoying life to shed the oppressed and unhappy Arab women stereotype.

Photo showing Palestinian artist Nidaa Badwan in her room in Gaza.

Palestinian girl scouts at band practice in Ramallah.

A young woman practicing before a gymnastic presentation in Abu Dhabi.

Mainstream media representations would like people to believe that the people of Middle East can be grouped into definite categories such as terrorists and greedy oil businessmen, that's why this Instagram feed took many opportunities to show the region's many different communities and cultures that live harmoniously together.

A photo taken in a church in Iraq showing some members of the Middle East's Christian community, a community which often goes unmentioned in the media.

A photo showing members of a Bedouin tribe waiting to welcome pilgrims of the Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq by offering them free Arabian coffee.

A photo showing the preparation of a Musakhan feast, a traditional Palestinian dish made with chicken and Taboun bread.

The media often forgets to showcase the vast and diverse architectural heritage in the Middle East, civilizations that left the region filled with history at every corner. The feed did a great job at showing that history.

A photo showing sheep wandering through the historical Roman site in Jerash, Jordan.

A photo showing the Dome of the Rock (Qobat Al Sakhra) near Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

An administrative building from the King Farouk era at the locks of Qanater in Egypt.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Everyday Middle East was showing the sheer normality of the lives of Middle Eastern people, showing that despite how the media represents them to the West as enraged communities torn by conflict and upheaval, they're actually just normal people living normal lives.

A photo showing a woman taking a selfie on a beach on the Caspican Sea in Iran.

A photo showing an Egyptian couple strolling near Downtown Cairo.

A photo showing two men buying ice cream from an ice cream truck in Dubai in the UAE.