PHOTOS: Sulaimani weathers year's longest night with dance, music

Erbil (Kurdistan 24) - Residents of the Kurdistan Region's province of Sulaimani celebrated the longest night of the year, known locally as "Yalda Night," with traditional performances of music and dance.

The winter solstice, the opposite of the shortest night of the year known as the summer solstice, occurs in the northern hemisphere on the day when one of the Earth's poles faces furthest away from the Sun. At this time, the Sun is at its lowest point in the sky and therefore is seen for a shorter window of time than in any other 24-hour period.

Sulaimani revelers organized multiple events, some at formal concert halls and others in smaller and more intimate venues.

In all, families enjoyed various forms of traditional Kurdish music and dancing, sometimes with the ancient atmosphere of the evening completed by storytellers.