Yazidis in Iraqi Kurdistan

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF KURDISTAN, IRAQ - 2015: Lalish Nûranî, Yazidi Temple. During the annual gathering of Yazidis at the Lalish temple that takes place every year at the beginning of October, a young woman, consumed by sadness, prays at the tomb of a saint for the liberation of her sisters, kidnapped by ISIS. According to the tradition, knots are made of pieces of fabric which are then placed around columns or sacred books as offerings. For each wish made, a knot is tied, at the same time, one undoes another knot for the wish to be fulfilled. The Yazidis of Kurdish ethnic origin are a religious community who practice Yazidism, one of the oldest monotheistic religion in the world with similarities in somes ritual with Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Judaism as well as Mazdaism . They live mainly in the province of Nineveh in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan. Since 2014, they have been persecuted by the Islamic State, who regard them as devil worshippers. (Photo by Reza/Getty Images)