People gather around a bonfire after Turkish authorities permitted the Newroz celebration, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Thousands celebrated the Newroz festival in Istanbul and in Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish city in a region where Kurdish militants regularly clash with government forces. Many flags proclaimed “No” in the Turkish and Kurdish languages, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to gain more power for his office in an April 16 referendum. (Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo)





People gesture during a gathering celebrating Newroz in Istanbul, Turkey on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Osman Orsal/Reuters)





Afghan youth play on a swing during Newroz Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)





A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) takes part during a celebration for the spring festival of Newroz, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli near the Turkish border, Syria on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters)





People gesture during a gathering celebrating Newroz in Diyarbakir, Turkey on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)





A woman walks past a bonfire during a gathering celebrating Newroz in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Sertac Kayar/Reuters)





Iraqi Kurdish people carry fire torches up a mountain, as they celebrate Newroz Day in the town of Akra, Iraq on March 20, 2017. (Photo by Ari Jalal/Reuters)





Kurdish Peshmerga forces celebrate Newroz Day in Kirkuk, Iraq on March 20, 2017. (Photo by Ako Rasheed/Reuters)





Young women flash the victory sign in front of a bonfire as Turkish Kurds gather during Newroz celebrations for the new year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2017. Newroz (also known as Nawroz or Nowruz) is an ancient Persian festival, which is also celebrated by Kurdish people, marking the first day of spring, which falls on March 21. (Photo by Ilyas Akengin/AFP Photo)





A girl carries a flag depicting jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) during a celebration for the spring festival of Newroz, in al-Darbasiyah town, on the Syrian-Turkish border, Syria on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Rodi Said/Reuters)





Afghans gather during Newroz Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)





Afghan families arrive at a shrine to celebrate Newroz in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)





A woman carries flowers from an Iranian American food giveaway to homeless people on Skid Row to celebrate Newroz in Los Angeles, California on March 18, 2017. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)





Turkish Kurds build a human tower during Newroz celebrations for the new year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2017. Newroz (also known as Nawroz or Nowruz) is an ancient Persian festival, which is also celebrated by Kurdish people, marking the first day of spring, which falls on March 21. (Photo by Ilyas Akengin/AFP Photo)





Members of the Azeri diaspora in Georgia wearing traditional costumes dance as they celebrate Nowruz in Tbilisi on March 21, 2017. Nowruz, “The New Year” in Farsi, is an ancient festival marking the first day of spring. (Photo by Vano Shlamov/AFP Photo)





A woman uses her smart phone to take pictures of people light bonfires as they watch a torch procession up a hill during celebrations of the Kurdish New Year Newroz in Akre, Aqrah, Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq, 20 March 2017. Newroz, or Nowruz, which means “new day” in Persian language, marks the arrival of spring and the first day in the Iranian calendar. It is widely celebrated in the Persian and neighouring regions and recognized on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (Photo by Gailan Haji/EPA)





People light bonfires as they watch a torch procession up a hill during celebrations of the Kurdish New Year Newroz in Akre, Aqrah, Kurdistan Region, northern Iraq, 20 March 2017. (Photo by Gailan Haji/EPA)





A Kurdish woman dances in front of a fire as Turkish Kurds gather for Newroz celebrations for the new year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2017. Newroz (also known as Nawroz or Nowruz) is an ancient Persian festival, which is also celebrated by Kurdish people, marking the first day of spring, which falls on March 21. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo)





Kyrgyz people in national costumes take part in Nooruz celebrations in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 21 March 2017. Nooruz, also known as Noruz in other parts of the world, is the traditional New Year holiday celebration for Central Asians. (Photo by Igor Kovalenko/EPA)





Children enjoy a swing during celebrations of Nowruz, the Persian new year, at the Kart-e-Sakhi shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. Nowruz, the Farsi-language word for “new year”, is an ancient Persian festival, celebrated on the first day of spring in countries including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photos)





Kurdish community members living in Greece dance during Newroz celebrations on March 21, 2017 in Lavrio, some 80 kilometres from Athens. Kurds celebrate Newroz every year on the first day of spring, March 21, and is considered the most important festival in Kurdish culture. (Photo by Eleftherios Elis/AFP Photo)





Iraqi Kurds holding lit torches walk up a mountain in the town of Akra, 500 km north of Baghdad, on March 20, 2017 as they celebrate the Noruz spring festival. The Persian New Year is an ancient Zoroastrian tradition celebrated by Iranians and Kurds which coincides with the vernal (spring) equinox and is calculated by the solar calender. (Photo by Safin Hamed/AFP Photo)





A young girl jumps a fire as people celebrate Newroz festivities on March 21, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. Newroz is celebrated by Kurdish communities around the world and marks the first day of spring. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)





An Afghan girl looks on a window of the Hazrat-e-Ali shrine at Nowruz festivities which mark the Afghan new year in Mazari-i-Sharif on March 21, 2017. Nowruz, one of the biggest festivals of the war-scarred nation, marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. Nowruz is calculated according to a solar calendar, this coming year marking 1396. (Photo by Farshad Usyan/AFP Photo)





Children attend the celebrations of Nauroz (Nowruz) “New day”, the traditional Afghan New Year's Day, on March 21, 2017 at the Hockey refugee camp situated at the former Olympic Complex at an Athens southern suburb. Nowruz corresponds to the first day of spring and is actually the first day of the Persian Calendar, which is based on the solar year. (Photo by Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP Photo)





An Afghan girl holds balloons during Newroz Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)