The Citadel of Erbil

The Citadel of Erbil

The Citadel of Erbil stands at the center of the capital of Kurdistan Region, and is considered the oldest continuously-inhabited city for five thousand years back till date. It is the most prominent cultural and archeological monument in the city. It was composed of three quarters called Seray, Topkhana, and Tekiyah. It is 431m high from the sea level, and nearly 32m high from its surrounding. During the last few years, the Kurdistan Regional Government has evacuated the Citadel from its inhabitants, especially because it is now inhabited by only middle-income families, while it had been the favorite place for the city’s most honorable people, traders, and rich elites. The evacuation decision came as part of a project aiming at transforming the Citadel into a cultural monument and touristic site that would be visited by the lovers of archeological sites from all over the world. The Government reserved lands in the south-eastern suburb of the city to the Citadel’s inhabitants, who named their new residence quarter after their old one, that is, “New Citadel of Erbil”. The concerned authorities in Kurdistan Regional Government are cooperating with the UNESCO for the rehabilitation of the Citadel and the renovation of its archeological buildings, in order to make of it a great human cultural monument and a standing witness of different times and ages. Recently, in2014 Erbil Citadel have been recorded under the World Heritage List of UNESCO