IRANIAN KURDS

KURDISH PEOPLE, IRAN

The Kurdish people are one of Iran’s most widespread ethnic groups, living across the country’s western and northwestern regions. This gallery focuses on the mountainous heart of Iranian Kurdistan, specifically the Hawraman region in Kurdistan Province — a dramatic landscape of stone villages and terraced hillsides, recently inscribed as an Iranian UNESCO cultural heritage site. Known for their strong sense of identity, layered clothing, music, and deep-rooted traditions, the Kurds of Hawraman live in close connection with their land and history. Their language, part of the Northwestern Iranian branch, is central to their cultural expression — with the Hawrami (Gorani) dialect spoken here preserving ancient poetic and oral traditions. These photographs reflect moments of strength, ritual, and resilience in a place where culture runs as deep as the valleys below.