AKRE, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — For many the vernal equinox is just a date, but in Iran and the Kurdish regions it marks Nowruz, the Persian new year and a central expression of Kurdish identity. Akre, an ancient town tucked against craggy mountains in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has long been a focal point for Nowruz gatherings.
About 30 million Kurds live across contiguous areas of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, separated by borders but bound by shared culture and history. In Akre, Kurds traditionally light flaming torches at sunset and carry them up the mountainside to signal the victory of light over darkness. Women wear flowing, glittering Kurdish dresses and ornate headpieces; many men wear traditional baggy trousers and woven sashes.
This year, hundreds marched up the mountain under storm clouds, leaving burning burlap torches along the path beside a giant unfurled Kurdish flag. The torches recall a Kurdish myth in which a blacksmith leads villagers to defeat a tyrannical king and signals freedom with mountain-top flames. Organizers also arranged flames to form the numbers two and one, alluding to the saying that “two plus two equals one,” a symbolic claim that Kurdistan’s regions across four states form one nation.
The celebrations were more subdued than in past years. Torrential rain and the wider Middle East war — which has seen Iranian drones and missiles fly over the Kurdish region as they target U.S. sites — kept some people away. Still, many Kurds from Syria, Iran and Turkey braved the risk and weather to join the rites in Akre.
Political ties among Kurdish authorities have warmed in recent months. Relations between Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government and leaders of Syria’s Kurdish-led region, once chilly, have thawed; in January Iraqi Kurdish officials offered political support and humanitarian aid after Syrian government advances into Kurdish-held areas.
Despite the rain and security concerns, crowds gathered in the central plaza to dance, pose in traditional dress and carry torches through the town. For attendees, Nowruz in Akre is both a spring celebration and a potent reaffirmation of shared culture and unity across divided Kurdish lands.
