Culture
A drone shot of large crowds on the second day of the tahini festival in Duhok province's Amedi district on Friday, December 5, 2025. Photo: Rudaw/screengrab
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The town of Amedi in Duhok province this week held its annual festival celebrating locally-made tahini, drawing large crowds from across the Kurdistan Region and beyond.
An estimated 25 tons of tahini were sold during the two-day event that wrapped up on Friday, according to organizers. Around 50,000 visitors attended the festival, which featured dozens of stalls showcasing local products.
Chra Amedi, a shopkeeper, said he sold half of the stock he brought. “We brought 500 tons of tahini and sold half of it,” he told Rudaw.
Visitors stocked up on a variety of local goods.
“I bought tahini, khabis [a locally made sweet], and several other products,” said festivalgoer Hiba Luqman.
Alongside the rich display of local produce, the festival also featured musical performances, folk dancing, and other cultural activities.
“This year’s festival was much better organized, more beautiful, and more crowded than last year and the year before,” said visitor Hayfa Amedi.
The event, now in its third year, continues to grow. It has more than doubled in size since its first edition in 2023, according to festival organizer Karwan Amedi.
Amedi is home to 34 tahini grinders, many of which run partly on hydroelectric power, producing the town’s renowned sesame paste.
The town produces hundreds of tons of tahini annually and exports to markets in the Netherlands and the United States, according to Hakar Hamid, head of the Amedi agriculture directorate.
Naif Ramazan contributed to this article from Amedi
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment