Erbil – Entering the Citadel of Erbil, in the ancient centre of the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan, 350 kilometres away from Baghdad, is like travelling 6,000 years to the past. A fortress erected approximately 30 metres above the current Erbil still protects the ruins of a city built between the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods (6000 and 1500 AC), which up until the 1990s was still occupied by Kurd migrants from the rural area.
The historical importance of the ancient city of Erbil, a name derived from the Assyrian word "Arba-Illu," which means Four Gods, and the deterioration of the place has led the World Monuments Fund, a New York-based non-government organization (NGO), to include the citadel among the world’s 100 most endangered sites. In partnership with other NGOs, the local government is working to include the citadel in the list of World Heritage Sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
In 2007, in partnership with the Unesco, the government of Erbil began revitalizing the citadel. The walls of the city’s fortress, which face the old commercial centre of the current Erbil, can be seen from kilometres away. One of the walking entrances to the citadel is through the North gate. Climbing the access ramp, one has a nice view of the current city, perhaps a postcard image of Erbil, which does not receive many tourists yet.
Most visitors at the citadel are Iraqis and Kurds themselves. As a result of the city’s economic development over the last few years, the fortress started being visited by a few tourists who travel to the Kurdish capital on business and find some time to get to know the historical site, pointed to by several street signs. Proof that the fortress is appreciated by tourists is the fact that there is a photographer at the top of the ramp, ready to take a picture with the city of Erbil in the background and then sell it to visitors as they leave.
As the ANBA reporter visited the citadel, a Kurd was taking pictures with his family from Greece at the North gate. "Tourists do not know much here. They are afraid of coming to Kurdistan, because they fear for their safety," said he. According to the driver who took the reporter to the citadel, Hunar R. Rasull, who spoke a few words in English, the city of Erbil should become better known in the next few years as foreign enterprises move in.
According to information from the city’s website, Erbil has been continually inhabited for thousands of years. However, archaeologists are unable to precise the exact age in which it started being built. The only way of ascertaining the actual age of the citadel would be through archaeological excavations, which have not been carried out yet. Studies indicate that the citadel’s age ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 years.
Inside the citadel, there are currently hundreds of destroyed houses dating back to the 19th century. Arches and columns may also be seen by a minaret, which is the tower of a mosque, well preserved and even bearing its original colours. According to the website, this is the only local minaret that is still standing, along with the mosque’s remainders, in a place that once harboured dozens of mosques.
Museum and income
Inside the citadel is the Kurdish Textile Museum, a private, not-for-profit initiative destined to promote, showcase and preserve ancient textiles from the Iraqi region. At the site, a two-storey house built in 1938, there are several carpets by the Kilim tribe, known worldwide, hats, typical clothing, agricultural artefacts and weaving equipment.
During the ANBA reporter’s visit, there were younger and older women there weaving carpets, shoes and decorative objects. They used sheep wool dyed in different colours and looms from past centuries. The women are part of the Women’s Income Generation Projects, funded by the U.S. Regional Reconstruction Team (RRT). The program aims to create job opportunities for women, while reviving traditional Kurdish weaving skills.
According to local women, the carpets take two to three months to be completed. The hand-woven carpets featuring colourful details and elaborate geometrical shapes take around a year to be manufactured.
Alongside the carpets, hats, blankets and artefacts on display at the museum there are plaques indicating the age of the objects, and in some rooms there are explanations about the techniques and materials used. The plaques are written in three languages, Kurdish, Arabic and English.
Outside the museum, a store sells products similar to those on display and other souvenirs.
The difficulty faced by foreigners in Kurdistan in communicating with locals, who speak Kurdish, may pose an obstacle to unprepared tourists. Nevertheless, the city’s safety and the Kurds’ hospitality cheers up the foreigners, who discover a new Iraq in the region.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
