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Erbil Governorate

Erbil (Hawler), Iraq

Erbil / Hewlêr (as in Latin Kurdish) (also written Arbil, or Irbil) Kurdish: هه ولیرHewlêr; is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. The city lies eighty kilometers (fifty miles) east of Mosul, and is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Urban life at Erbil can be dated back to at least 6000 BC, and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. At the heart of the city is the ancient Citadel of Erbil. The Hurrians were the first to establish Urbilum and expand their rule to the rest of Northern Mesopotamia. Afterwards, the city has been under the rule of many regional powers since that time, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Arabs, and Ottomans. The city's archaeological museum houses a large collection of pre-Islamic artefacts, and is a center for archaeological projects in the area.

Weather in Erbil city is very hot in the period June-august. During this period the temperature can rise up to 45 C, occasionally reaching higher temperatures. The average temperature in summer is around 35 C in July. The winters are mild and snow falls rarely, however, the temperature can lower to around 0 C in January. The rain falls mainly in the last and first two months of year, heaviest is in December with precipitation of about 75 mm.

The boundaries of Erbil governorate are Nineveh governorate at the west, Duhok governorate and Turkey at the north, Iran at the east and Sulaymaniya governorate at the southeast, Kerkuk and Salah al-Din governorates at the south.

The Erbil region has a plentiful water supply with many hills. The height of the undulations increase gradually towards the northeast; where they become mountainous. There are many plains in the south and west of the region. The geological structure of the Erbil plain is suitable for artesian water. Due to the heavy rainfall, water becomes trapped, in large supplies, in the lower beds. This water then rises to the surface under its own pressure.

Population (2009 est.) • Total 1,293,839

Citadel of Erbil & Main sights

The Citadel of Erbil is an occupied mound, in the historical heart of Erbil, rising between 25 and 32 metres (82 and 105 ft) from the surrounding plain. The buildings on top of the mound stretch over a roughly oval area of 430 by 340 metres (1,410 × 1,120 ft) occupying 102,000 square metres (1,100,000 sq ft). It has been claimed that the site is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world. The earliest evidence for occupation of the citadel mound dates to the 5th millennium BC, and possibly earlier. During the 20th century, the urban structure was significantly modified, as a result of which a number of houses and public buildings were destroyed. In 2007, the High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization (HCECR) was established to oversee the restoration of the citadel. In the same year, all inhabitants, except one family, were evicted from the citadel as part of a large restoration project. Since then, archaeological research and restoration works have been carried out at and around the mound by various international teams and in cooperation with local specialists, and many areas remain off-limits to visitors due to the danger of unstable walls and infrastructure.

The Mudhafaria Minaret 

The Mudhafaria Minaret is a minaret located in new the Minare Park on the west region of Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.

The minaret is 36 m high, was built in 1190–1232 AD (586–630 AH) by the Kurdish prince of Erbil in the reign of Saladin, Muzaffar Al-Din Abu Sa’eed Al-Kawkaboori (Gökböri) who had entered in the obedience of Saladin without war and married his sister.

The minaret is composed of a high octagonal base and a tall cylindrical shaft, with a balcony located between the base and the shaft.

It is s built of baked bricks, the base being decorated with two tiers of niches with pointed arches, two on each of the eight faces that are inscribed in rectangular frames. The balcony parapet is carved with twenty-four small niches; the access door to the minaret steps is on the eastern side of the octagonal base and leads top to the balcony. From there a small door gives access to steps inside the cylindrical shaft that led to the second balcony now collapsed.

At the 2016 PASCAL conference in Glasgow, the objectives of Erbil in relation to becoming a learning city were presented and can be found in detail at this link. The presentation began with a brief description and overview on Erbil City and its learning development perspectives, exploring general information, geographical data, historical background, and the most notable golden ages and events within its long history. The presentation focused on Erbil Citadel as a case study in detail, demonstrating how the present-day Citadel is becoming a site that has a potential learning capacity for the modern City of Erbil, showing its evolution up to the present days as a settlement with continuing role in social learning practices along its long history. The presentation described the evolution of Erbil Citadel as a historical landmark within the heart of modern Erbil City and how it developed to an open air museum and learning environment, exploring its role as a dynamic learning tool for interpreting the history and the culture of the City and the region, providing information for visitors, especially the young generations, in a pleasant atmosphere and friendly welcoming environment, making the Citadel a positive learning environment. 

 Overall the presentation covered the following main themes: 

1. Erbil City overview (brief description, location,  figures and statistics) 
2. Historical background, golden ages and key events in history.  
3. Schools and education in Erbil city (historical background and contemporary overview ) 
4. Erbil Citadel (significance, architecture, urban fabric and archeological investigation) 5. Erbil Citadel revitalization project (overview, vision, management and achievements. 
5. Management perspectives, stakeholders, UNESCO and other parties. 
6. The role of Erbil Citadel as cultural learning environment and open air museum. 
7. Erbil Citadel Cultural activities (museums, exhibitions, seminars, lectures). 
8. Visitors to the Citadel, Schools and Universities, delegations and tourists.  
9. Events, national ceremonies, social gathering and other activities in the citadel. 

In addition to the presentation there were other supporting materials and documents, including a book (Highlights of Erbil Citadel), 4 brochures (leaflets), 4 posters, 2 short films or videos. 

The session ended with open discussions through raising questions on different topics related to the presented case and the future development of Erbil as a cultural Learning City. These issues were: 

1. How can Erbil city  be developed to become a learning city  
2. How Erbil city has the potential to meet PASCAL objectives  
3. In what ways can-Erbil citadel site can function as an open-air museum and learning environment.  
4. Can Erbil citadel host and act as motivation for social learning activities  

References

1. Nadine Leonard, “Feast of a Lifetime: Sara's Story”, iUniverse 2003, P. 63
2. I. Edwards, C. Gadd, N. Hammond, “The Cambridge Ancient History”, Cambridge University Press 1971, P. 601
3. Sanan Aga Kasap,"Erbil ve Erbilli", 1999, P. 5 - 7
4. Erbil, Wikipedia encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erbil#cite_note-Hamblin-5
5. M. Th Houtsma, “E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam”, 1913-1936, Bril 1987, P. 521
6. Leonhart Rauwolff, “A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages, First Tomes: Leonhart Rauwolff's Itinerary into the Eastern Countries”, by John Rat, fell. Of the royal society, London, prince Arms in st. Paul’s Church-yard 1693, P. 202
7. James S. Buckingham, ““Travels in Mesopotamia: Including a Journey from Aleppo to Baghdad”, Gregg International Publisher 1971, P. 325 - 326
8. Encarta encyclopedia Winkler Prins, version 2002, title “Erbil”.
9. William R. Hay, “Two Years in Kurdistan 1918 – 1920”, William Clowes and Sons, Limited, London and Beccles 1921, P. 17 – 29.
10. Nefi Demirci, "Dünden bugüne Kerkuk", Dizgi Press house, Istanbul 1990, P. 12
11. Claudius J. Rich, “Residence in Koordistan”, Printed by Anton Hain KG, Meisenheim / Glan, West Germany; Republished in 1972 by Gregg International Limited Westmead, Farnborough, Hants, England 1972, vol. I, P. 45 - 46

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