The biggest day on the Kurdish calendar by a long shot is Nowruz. Marking the first day of Spring and the Persian New Year, Kurds head for the mountains to set ablaze the evening sky with bonfires.

Nowruz also marks the beginning of "picnic season" as the beautiful weather and the picturesque, green scenery make for the perfect picnics. As you can see from the photos below, we have had our fair share of picnicking fun already. 

Photos courtesy of Dalton Thomas.