Erbil Citadel World Heritage Site

Official name

Erbil Citadel | UNESCO

Country

Iraq | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

36.1911° Lat, 44.9100° Lon | Map

Code

1437

Time Zone

Asia/Baghdad (+03, +0300)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2014. Erbil Citadel is a fortified settlement on top of an imposing ovoid-shaped tell (a hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the same spot) in the Kurdistan region, Erbil Governorate. A continuous wall of tall 19th-century façades still conveys the visual impression of an impregnable fortress, dominating the city of Erbil. The citadel features a peculiar fan-like pattern dating back to Erbil’s late Ottoman phase. Written and iconographic historical records document the antiquity of settlement on the site – Erbil corresponds to ancient Arbela, an important Assyrian political and religious centre – while archaeological finds and investigations suggest that the mound conceals the levels and remains of previous settlements.