4th Nomadic Migration – Winter 2026

Under the Shadow of War

In late winter, on the first days of March 2026, I once again joined the Bakhtiari nomads of the Zagros Mountains during the beginning of their seasonal migration known as Kooch. The journey started from the lowlands of Khuzestan, near the warm regions connected to the Persian Gulf, at an altitude of around 450 meters. At that time, the land still carried the silence and cold colors of winter — leafless trees, grey skies, and empty valleys shaped the landscape. Over four days and nearly 50 kilometers of walking, we slowly climbed toward the higher pastures at 1250 meters, witnessing the gradual transformation of nature, climate, and terrain. Unlike the migrations I documented between 2023 and 2025, this route revealed a very different face of the Zagros: harsher mountains, wider valleys, and a raw atmosphere of transition between winter and spring. The nomads would remain there for nearly two months before beginning their main spring migration in early May — a much longer and more difficult journey lasting several weeks across the mountains. What made this migration especially unforgettable was that it unfolded during the tense days of the 2026 US–Israel war against Iran. While uncertainty and fear spread across the region, the Bakhtiari families continued their ancient rhythm of movement through the mountains, carrying their lives forward as generations before them had done. Through these photographs, I tried to capture not only a migration, but also the quiet resilience of a people continuing their traditions in the shadow of conflict.