Residing for more than 2,000 years in contiguous mountain regions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia, the Kurds have remained reasonably autonomous despite the fact that they have rarely enjoyed self-governance over the territory they call Kurdistan, or "land of the Kurds."

Some scholars believe these people are descended from the Medes, an ancient Iranian group who settled in southwest Asia more than 2,700 years ago.

Today some 20 million Kurds live in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Europe, and the United States. Because of their long, isolated existence in mountainous areas, Kurds have been able to retain their own language—Kurdish, which is most closely related to Persian—as well as their own social organization and oral traditions.

Almost all Kurds are Muslims, but a small minority known as the Yazidi practices a unique religion that blends Zoroastrianism, Manichaeanism (a philosophy that says the spirit can gain freedom through self-denial), Christianity, and Shiite Islam.

Though Kurdish society is patriarchal and only male siblings inherit property, Kurdish women enjoy a more public life than do other rural women from surrounding Turkish, Arab, and Iranian societies. They have greater involvement in community decisions and more freedom of interaction with men. Women may also opt not to wear a veil, a choice that is much more difficult for women in some neighboring societies.

A Kurdish woman traditionally wears a bright floral skirt, an embroidered jacket, and a turban or scarf on her head. A man's traditional attire consists of loose-fitting pants, a short-waisted jacket, a sash around the waist, and a turban similar in style to a woman's.

While the Kurds share many of their culinary practices with Turkish, Arab, and Iranian neighbors, they are famous for their cheeses and yogurt.

Because of the Turkish, Iraqi, and Iranian policies of forced settlement, Kurds are now a settled agrarian people. Not long ago more of them were nomadic and tribally organized. Some continue to organize themselves tribally, with loyalty building from family to lineage to clan to tribe.

Other Kurdish farmers have organized instead around village leaders, who usually own the land and lease it out to farmers in exchange for labor or a portion of the harvest. Kurdish nomadic leaders inherit their titles.

Many aspects of the Kurds' social life are changing dramatically as Iraq, Iran, and Turkey adopt policies aimed at integrating them into mainstream culture. Some Kurds have migrated to cities and now work in urban trades.