Erbil Province

Erbil Province
It lies at the north of Iraq. It occupies an area of 13165 square kilometers. It is bordered by Turkey in the north . It is about 350 km from Baghdad . Its history dates back to the 6th century BC. It experiences harsh and cold weather with low humidity in winter. Erbil is well - known for its tourist sites as well as being an important cultural center in the north of Iraq. It is famous for its pottery industry known as (Kura Ge) as well as Erbil Kebab and Yoghurt. Erbil International Airport, which lies at the center of the city, is the important one in the Kurdistan region in Iraq and serves flights to many countries.

Tourist and Cultural Sites in Erbil

Erbil Citadel
It is one of the oldest fortresses in the world. It lies at the center of Erbil City at the height of 25 meters from the surrounding area and 432 above sea level. It dates back to 600 BC and occupies an area of 110000 square metres . It has about 506 houses.

Erbil Museum
It is the second large museum after Sulemani Museum . It is divided into three historical departments where artifacts are displayed according to their historical eras . Those artifacts date back to 5000 BC and reflect people›s manners of living at each era. Beside the museum, there is a library which is rich with the region›s cultural heritage.

Choli Minaret
Choli Minaret is one of Erbil city›s most important landmarks.It lies south west of the city. This minaret, which is also called Mudhafaria Minaret, is about 22 metres high . It was built in 11281138- A.D., during the rule of Sultan Mudaffar al - Din . Local inhabitants refer to it as ‹ Choli ‹ because it was far from the city.

Shanider Cave
It is located at about 165 km from the city of Erbil. It is one of the oldest caves in Iraq and dates back to 60000 BC.

Shaqlawa summer resort
Shaqlawa lies about 51 km to the north east of Erbil and is located between the Safeen and Sork mountains . It is about 1066 m above sea level. Shaqlawa has an abundance of waterfalls, springs, trees, and greenery and has lots of houses and hotels.

Gali Ali Begg resort
This resort is situated about 95 kilometers from Erbil off the road to Soran . It dips between the Korek (2115 m) and Bradost (2.58 ) mountains. As such, it is one of the well - known resorts in the city. SAMI ABDUL - RAHMAN PARK Being the largest green area in Erbil,

Bekhal summer resort
It is located at a distance of 105 kilometers from Erbil. Bekhal Summer Resort has a natural waterfall flowing down the center of the mountain. It has many of restaurants and cafes. Tourists visit this resort from early spring until late autumn.

Sami Abdul - Rahman Park
was architecturally organised on an 800 acre area. It lies to the west of Erbil and contains many tourists services such as restaurants, kiosks and playgrounds which people visit to enjoy the scenery.

Erbil has Majidi Land near Hewa City on the Kaznazan road.

Korek Mountain
It is located 10 km to the north of Erbil . It covers an area from Bekhal resort in Raoundoz to the mountain summit away . The resort has a 4 km long Teleferic system with 75 m high. The tourist complex lies at the mountain summit where visitors find restaurants, cafés, playgrounds in addition to 37 flats. As the snow reaches up to one meter, tourists visit the place in winter for skiing.

Important mosques in Erbil
There are many mosques in the city such as the Citadel Mosque , Market Large Mosque , Caliphs Mosque and Jalil Khayat Mosque •

Important Churches in Erbil
There are several churches in Erbil which include Mar Yohanna Cathedral ( Saint Joseph ) in Ankawa, Saint George Church in the center of Erbil and Kwasinj Catholic Church in Kwasinj .