In adherence to government and health professional instructions for the ongoing corornavirus pandemic, Tanya mostly stayed at home.
But this Eid, she's giving herself an outdoor break, capturing her time spent in nature by taking selfies.
"I stayed at home for seven months," Tanya said through a face mask. "So have other people who have been adhering to the health instructions. But people have come outside this Eid, and I decided to come out with my friends and take a breather, because we were very bored at home. I'm really happy to be out of the house today, but we are adhering to the instructions because the virus is around."
Gali Ali Beg and other Erbil attractions may be bustling with visitors, but neighbouring Duhok province is struggling.
According to the Duhok General Directorate of Tourism, nearly 60,000 tourists visited Duhok's resorts from Iraq's central and southern provinces last Eid al-Adha.
But this year, roads into the province are shut to tourists as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.
"All the tourists here are from Duhok, as the roads have been closed because of coronavirus," said Barzan Ibrahim, owner of a resort in Amedi district, Duhok. "On previous Eids, 40,000 to 50,000 tourists would come to Inishke resort per day. But this year, the number won’t even reach 500."
Coronavirus is not the only cause for the shrink in tourist numbers, with delays in salary payments by the government also partly to blame, one tourist official said.
"Our teams have recorded the number of tourists in all the resorts in our area. It’s the second day of Eid and the number is at one percent," said Nazif Mohamed, head of Amedi's tourism directorate. "The number of tourists coming to the Inishke cave resort is very small. Despite the coronavirus measures, and due to the delay in the salaries and financial issues, the number of tourists has dropped.
According to Duhok's tourism directorate, more than 500,000 tourists visited the province in 2019. So far this year, only 60,000 tourists have come to the province - most of whom came in winter, before the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.
Reporting by Hunar Rashid
Translation by Sarkawt Mohammed
