ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yazidis are gathering in Lalish for Jamaya Sheikhadi festival, the Gathering and Feast of Seven Days. The festival, held annually in early October is a sacred time for Yazidis to make a pilgrimage to their holiest shrine in Lalish.
Between 25,000-30,000 people are expected to visit Lalish, each day during the festival, according to officials at the Yazidis' holy temple.
Every evening, a ritual dance is performed by men dressed in white followed by a procession behind a sacred torch.
"I came from the Netherlands. I am indeed very excited to be here," Malva Khidir, a Yazidi visitor said. "We are happy to witness how Yazidi culture is preserved. We are very happy and proud of it."
On the fifth night of the week-long festival, a bull is sacrificed. The meat is cooked and shared among the pilgrims.
The timing of the festival is to welcome autumn. Yazidis pray for good rains during the coming winter in order to have a bountiful harvest in the spring and summer.
"This is a very old and amazing feast. This is our own feast, and we will not give up on our cultures as long as one Yazidi remains," Shavin Shingali, another visitor said.