The Fourth Shal u Shapik and Kurdish Clothing Festival

Different from previous years, with the presence of President Masoud Barzani under the slogan "The Homeland is the Mother and Culture is the Identity," this festival was held on June 10, 2026.

In 2023, after the renovation of the Zakho Citadel, the first Kurdish clothing festival was held in Zakho for a duration of two days on September 25 and 26.

In that festival, troupes, groups, and styles of wearing Kurdish clothing from the regions of all four parts of Kurdistan participated. After it caught everyone's attention and many people visited Zakho, becoming a trend for the region in social media and Kurdish broadcasting, this festival program continued for the following years in the same way and even broader for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026.

The dimension of the fourth Shal u Shapik festival that distinguished it over the past two days from previous festivals was the presence of the honorable President Masoud Barzani and the personalities with him, which became a reason for a great moral push for the festival and encouragement for all Kurdistanism to participate in future festivals. Thus, the festival did not just remain as a local trend of the region but transcended to become a nationwide trend across all parts of Kurdistan and caught the attention of neighboring countries because President Barzani, with his presence, gave a unique weight to this festival, and it might be evaluated as an international festival in the coming years.

The importance of this festival lies in the revival of folklore, culture, and high estimation of the Kurdish nation's identity. Because the attendees of this festival were, by the vast majority, youth, and perhaps three-quarters of it were boys and girls from all four parts of Kurdistan. Therefore, these participating youths receive practical information about their culture and become familiar with the styles of wearing Kurdish clothing from all over Kurdistan. Consequently, the familiarity of these youths with the principles and customs of their nation and highly valuing it leads to the preservation of these values and keeping them high, viewing it as a national sanctity. Also, extensive and new relationships are formed as a result of their gathering in one city and the warm welcome they give to each other, and strong connections are made. In this way, the multi-dimensionality of the rhythm of perception appears; meaning, the youth does not become a city-worshiper youth, but rather their visions become broader, making exchanges between different cities, and their insights become farther and deeper.

The cities that participated in the festival:

• Mardin
• Amadiya
• Barzan
• Hawraman
• Shariya
• Qamishlo
• Rawanduz
• Soran
• Sulaymaniyah
• Erbil
• Duhok
• Akre
• Kirkuk
• Halabja
• Zakho

Also, the participating artistic troupes such as:

• Nigeria
• Armenia
• East
• North
• South
• West
• and many other places