Visitors from across Iraq celebrate Newroz in Duhok
“We came from Mosul. As you know we were surrounded during ISIS. We couldn’t get out of the city to the Kurdistan Region,” said Ali Mahmood, a tourist from Mosul visiting Duhok.
“Thanks be to God we are now liberated. This is the first time we came to the Kurdistan Region during Newroz celebrations. Thanks be to God the weather is nice and it’s spring. People are happy and joyful with these celebrations,” he said.
Arabs don’t traditionally celebrate Newroz, but all Iraqis have taken advantage of the national holiday declared by the government. Duhok’s tourism directorate expects 85,000 visitors during Newroz.
Across all four provinces of the Kurdistan Region, the tourism industry expects to receive a record number of tourists, more than the 243,000 who spent the holiday in the Region last year.
Reporting by Naif Ramadan
