An estimated 25,000 people poured into the Kurdish Newroz capital of Akre to celebrate the new year on Tuesday.

March 21 coincides with first day of the new year according to the Kurdish calendar that turns 2718 on Wednesday.

The people of Kurdistan celebrate Newroz, viewed as freedom day from tyranny.

It has become a tradition for visitors to climb the city's mountain with torches after dusk, bringing a festive spirit to the diverse city where Muslims, and Christians, and other components, have co-existed for centuries.

The Kurdish calendar starts from 700 BCE, a period where Kurds by some accounts formed the Medes Empire spanning from what is now Iranian Kurdistan to the Kurdistan Region and modern Iraq.

"We are the sons of the Medes..." the Kurdish national anthem reads.

The Newroz capital is not an official title, but the locals have been pushing for such recognition both locally and internationally. 

Akre city is 60 km north of the Kurdish capital of Erbil and falls within the administration of Duhok province.

Photos: Safin Hamed | AFP