Norouz, the traditional Persian new year's celebration, heralds the arrival of spring throughout Central Asia, the Caucasus, and parts of the Middle East.
Happy Norouz! Welcoming The Persian New Year
![Iraqi Kurds mark Norouz with a torch-lit procession up a mountain above the town of Aqrah, some 100 kilometers east of Mosul.](https://gdb.rferl.org/cbabf7a4-e6b8-4989-8ab4-ad862b2cde50_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Iraqi Kurds mark Norouz with a torch-lit procession up a mountain above the town of Aqrah, some 100 kilometers east of Mosul.
![The torch-lit procession snakes up the mountainside.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0246df8b-252b-4e51-ab24-2a93b74c2fb5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The torch-lit procession snakes up the mountainside.
![An Afghan girl looks out a window at Norouz festivities happening in the courtyard of the Hazrat-e-Ali Shrine in Mazar-e Sharif.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bbf45005-a8be-45a0-ba6e-3b4c965609fa_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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An Afghan girl looks out a window at Norouz festivities happening in the courtyard of the Hazrat-e-Ali Shrine in Mazar-e Sharif.
![A Kurdish woman dances around a bonfire in the Turkish town of Diyarbakir on March 21.](https://gdb.rferl.org/0eac0ee7-937e-4db6-9a7d-ed20f2cae912_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Kurdish woman dances around a bonfire in the Turkish town of Diyarbakir on March 21.