Women take part in a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
GULP, Iraq (AP) — At the foot of the mountains along Iraq’s border with Iran, a Kurdish family gathers in the village of Gulp, near Halabja, to prepare iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan.
As children play and relatives come together to mark the final days of the holy month, the warmth of the gathering is tempered by concern just across the border.
Nyan Fayaq worries for her relatives in Iran’s Kurdish city of Saqqez, whom she has not been able to reach for a month.
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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Women wearing traditional clothes prepare Iftar meal as they take part in a family gathering during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)Wearing traditional clothes young women take part in a family gathering at the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)Women take part in a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)A girl holds her rabbit as she takes part in a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)People take part in a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)Wearing a traditional dress, Parzhin Jasem, poses for a photo next to sheep belonging to her uncle as she takes part in a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)Shepherds arrive with their flock of sheep as their family prepares to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)A boy runs past a flock of sheep during a family gathering to break the fast with an Iftar meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)Women prepare Iftar meal as they take part in a family gathering during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)A sign displays a prayer that reads in Arabic: “Oh Allah, send blessings upon our prophet, and upon his family, and companions”, on a road near the village of Gulp, Iraq, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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