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Five teenage girls sit on a low wall to get a good view of the people climbing the mountains with flaming torches and fireworks. They wear colorful dresses and some have golden headdresses on their long hair.

Girls sit on a wall to get a good vantage point of people climbing the mountains with flaming torches and fireworks for Nowruz in Akre, the Kurdish region of Iraq, on Friday.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

AKRE, Iraqi Kurdistan Region — For many people, the spring equinox – which marked the start of spring on Friday – is just another date on the calendar. But in Iran, it is celebrated as the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz. In the Kurdish regions of the Middle East, Nowruz celebrations are a fundamental expression of Kurdish identity.

Today, more than 30 million Kurds live in a contiguous area in Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, divided by external borders and historical internal differences. The ancient city of Akre, nestled against rugged mountains in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, has been the focal point of Nowruz celebrations for decades.

Dusk falls over Akre in Nowruz, a celebration of spring and renewal, and people gather in a central square.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Ismail Mohammad, 28, holds a Kurdish flag and a drum as people pass by during Nowruz festivities.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Here, Kurds gather to light flaming torches at sunset, carrying them up the mountainside to symbolize the victory of light over darkness. The women wear flowing, shimmering Kurdish dresses that look like they stepped out of a medieval painting. Most men wear traditional loose-fitting pants with woven cummerbunds – cotton belts worn around the waist.

Hundreds of Kurds carried flames in procession to the mountaintop under purple-black storm clouds on Friday, letting their lit burlap torches light the darkness next to a giant Kurdish flag unfurled along the way.

People stand under a tent on top of a hill to avoid the pouring rain while waiting for the Nowruz festivities.

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A view of flaming torches carried about a third of the way up a mountain at dusk.

Traditionally, the people of Akre carry flaming torches up the mountain to light a large fire at the top. But this year’s festivities were quieter than in previous years due to the war in Iran and heavy rains.

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The torches refer to a story from Kurdish mythology in which a brave blacksmith gathers an army of villagers and slays a murderous king – signaling with flames from the mountaintop that the Kurds are free.

This year, they also spelled out in flames the numbers two and one – referring to a saying that “two plus two equals one” – meaning that the Kurdish regions of four different countries together form a united Kurdistan.

Women pose for photos dressed in traditional Kurdish clothing.

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A man spits fire on a torch as other people walk by.

People walk through the center of Akre with burning torches for Nowruz.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Traditionally cool relations between the government of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region and the leaders of Syria’s Kurdish-led region have thawed significantly in recent months. In January, Iraqi Kurdish officials offered political support and humanitarian aid after Syrian government forces advanced into Kurdish-held territory across the border.

The ongoing war in the Middle East, which has sent Iranian drones and missiles flying over the Kurdish region as they target U.S. sites, has kept many people away from celebrations this year. But many Syrian Kurds – as well as Kurds from Iran and Turkey – braved the risk of rockets and torrential rain to come to Akre and participate in this key expression of Kurdish identity.