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Happy Yezidi New Year!

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This week it was the Yezidi New Year, known as Sere Sal, which means “Head of the Year”. It’s celebrated on a particular Wednesday of April, known as Red Wednesday. This day commemorates the Wednesday that Melek Taus, one of the central figures of the Yezidi religion, first came to earth millions of years ago in order to calm the planet’s quaking and spread his peacock colors throughout the world.

Below are photos from this week’s Yezidi New Year celebration in Sinjar, Iraq, close to the Iraqi-Syrian border.

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Photo credits: Allt om Irak Facebookpage

Happy Assyrian New Year!

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Yesterday it was the Assyrian New Year, the year of 6766. Happy Assyrian New Year, everyone!

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The Iraqi and the Assyrian flag

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Girls in traditional Assyrian dresses

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Photo credits: Tourism in Iraq and Assyrian National National Library

 

 

Travel to Kurdistan

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Despite the ongoing threat from Daesh, Kurdistan is trying to hold the fort. Many Kurds I know try to keep up the vibes by sharing positive photos and news from their country.

Travel to Kurdistan is a beautiful Facebook page with one clear aim in mind.

Wanna go somewhere exciting? Somewhere different? Try Iraqi Kurdistan next time. here’s a few reasons why (all captions, when there are, are from the Travel to Kurdistan’s page):

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“Zaxo, Kurdistan”

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“Our colourful flag must wave in all weather and at all time to survive.”

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Photo credits: Travel to Kurdistan’s Facebook page

Photo: First Women’s Rights Demonstration in Egypt

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This photo is from the Facebook site King Farouk of Egypt, a site that’s dedicated to showing photos and stories from ancient Egypt. This photo is allegedly portraying the first demonstration for women’s rights in Egypt, on March 9, 1919.

The site is reminding us of hopeful times, when the Middle East and North Africa region wasn’t bleeding. I believe we all need it right now.

Christmas in Baghdad

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Christmas Eve yesterday in Baghdad, Iraq. The photos are from the Iraqi photographer Ahmad Mousa, founder of the @everydayiraq project. The captions are the original ones from Ahmad Mousa’s Facebookpage.

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Iraqi Christian girls light candles on Christmas Eve at a church in Baghdad

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‪Christmas mass in ‪Baghdad, at Our Lady of Salvation church

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Christmas mass in Baghdad, Iraq