Erbil Citadel (Erbil City)
| place with historical importance, interesting place, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Iraq /
Irbil /
Erbil City
World
/ Iraq
/ Irbil
/ Irbil
, 1 km from center (اربيل)
World / Iraq / Arbil
citadel, place with historical importance, interesting place, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Erbil Citadel (Hewler Citadel) is the oldest place on earth that is continuously inhabited. It is located at the center of Erbil city, the Capital of Kurdistan.
The earliest evidence for occupation of the citadel mound dates to the 5th millennium BC, and possibly earlier. It appears for the first time in historical sources in the Ebla tablets around 2,300 BC, and gained particular importance during the Neo-Assyrian period. During the Sassanian period and the Abbasid Caliphate, Erbil was an important centre for Christianity. After the Mongols captured the citadel in 1258, the importance of Erbil declined. 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.
World Heritage site of UNESCO whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437
The citadel town of Erbil represents a distinct urban entity and should be treated as such. It is not simply an agglomeration of a number of houses and other buildings located within a complex system of narrow alleyways. The citadel town is the unique heritage of human experience and genius of thousands of years. It tells the story of how hundreds of past generations interacted with their natural environment and how they developed their way of life based on their cultural norms and values.
Therefore, any attempt to conserve and develop this citadel should deal with it not as the sum of individual parts but as a total environment. There are so many lessons, both historical and architectural, that can be learned from this town. Its remaining buildings, houses, and urban spaces and features, represent an extremely valuable and irreplaceable cultural resource that should not be allowed to disappear forever.
Recently, the citadel town has been included as one of the 100 most endangered cultural sites in the world by the World Monument Fund (WMF) in New York. Efforts are also being made to have it included as one of UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
The existing fabric today consists of about 250 buildings most of which are courtyard houses from early 19th century.. In fact, there is no accurate survey or official record which ascertain the true age of all existing buildings
The oldest surviving building is the Qala' Hammam which is thought to have been built in 1775. Some existing houses have dates inscribed on them in Hijra Calendar as AH1311 which is equal to AD1893. Another house had a dated inscription of AH 1321 which is equal to AD1903. It is almost certain that there are older houses particularly on the south eastern side of the citadel. This means that there has been a continuous process of rebuilding over hundreds of years.
Houses were built over and over again and again on top of existing foundations, semi basements or even some walls. In other words, the citadel's fabric has been regenerating itself continuously. It is a great pity indeed that older buildings that belonged to the 16th and 15th Centuries or beyond could not survive this process.
Today, there are some 90 or so houses which have original and authentic architectural qualities that merit their restoration to their original state. Also, the perimeter wall must be maintained and restored because it represents an entity by itself. The mosque and hammam are still there but also need some restoration and enhancement.
However, most of the remaining houses have been left to either decay to a very serious extent or have been changed or added to so much that it makes it difficult to justify restoring them as they are. Should such houses be demolished and rebuilt as something else, or should they be restored as they were? Therefore, any future conservation and revitalization plan for the citadel must face this very challenging question that will prove to be the essential key to its success or otherwise.
www.erbilcitadel.org/ArchitecturalHeritage/index1.php?p...
The earliest evidence for occupation of the citadel mound dates to the 5th millennium BC, and possibly earlier. It appears for the first time in historical sources in the Ebla tablets around 2,300 BC, and gained particular importance during the Neo-Assyrian period. During the Sassanian period and the Abbasid Caliphate, Erbil was an important centre for Christianity. After the Mongols captured the citadel in 1258, the importance of Erbil declined. 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.
World Heritage site of UNESCO whc.unesco.org/en/list/1437
The citadel town of Erbil represents a distinct urban entity and should be treated as such. It is not simply an agglomeration of a number of houses and other buildings located within a complex system of narrow alleyways. The citadel town is the unique heritage of human experience and genius of thousands of years. It tells the story of how hundreds of past generations interacted with their natural environment and how they developed their way of life based on their cultural norms and values.
Therefore, any attempt to conserve and develop this citadel should deal with it not as the sum of individual parts but as a total environment. There are so many lessons, both historical and architectural, that can be learned from this town. Its remaining buildings, houses, and urban spaces and features, represent an extremely valuable and irreplaceable cultural resource that should not be allowed to disappear forever.
Recently, the citadel town has been included as one of the 100 most endangered cultural sites in the world by the World Monument Fund (WMF) in New York. Efforts are also being made to have it included as one of UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.
The existing fabric today consists of about 250 buildings most of which are courtyard houses from early 19th century.. In fact, there is no accurate survey or official record which ascertain the true age of all existing buildings
The oldest surviving building is the Qala' Hammam which is thought to have been built in 1775. Some existing houses have dates inscribed on them in Hijra Calendar as AH1311 which is equal to AD1893. Another house had a dated inscription of AH 1321 which is equal to AD1903. It is almost certain that there are older houses particularly on the south eastern side of the citadel. This means that there has been a continuous process of rebuilding over hundreds of years.
Houses were built over and over again and again on top of existing foundations, semi basements or even some walls. In other words, the citadel's fabric has been regenerating itself continuously. It is a great pity indeed that older buildings that belonged to the 16th and 15th Centuries or beyond could not survive this process.
Today, there are some 90 or so houses which have original and authentic architectural qualities that merit their restoration to their original state. Also, the perimeter wall must be maintained and restored because it represents an entity by itself. The mosque and hammam are still there but also need some restoration and enhancement.
However, most of the remaining houses have been left to either decay to a very serious extent or have been changed or added to so much that it makes it difficult to justify restoring them as they are. Should such houses be demolished and rebuilt as something else, or should they be restored as they were? Therefore, any future conservation and revitalization plan for the citadel must face this very challenging question that will prove to be the essential key to its success or otherwise.
www.erbilcitadel.org/ArchitecturalHeritage/index1.php?p...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Citadel_of_Arbil
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 36°11'28"N 44°0'33"E
- Wadi Rum 1079 km
- Mount Athos (Agion Oros) 1807 km
- Ennedi Massif 3063 km
- Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park 3778 km
- Garamba National Park 3833 km
- Okapi Wildlife Reserve 4099 km
- Ruwenzori Mountains National Park 4209 km
- Dja Faunal Reserve - UNESCO World Heritage Site 4877 km
- Arli National Park 5098 km
- Pendjari National Park 5115 km
- Xaneqe 0.6 km
- Minara 0.9 km
- Zanîyarî 1.2 km
- Pharmacey kurdistan 1.4 km
- Martyr Sami Abdulrahman Park 2.2 km
- Raperîn 2.4 km
- Rizgarî 2.4 km
- Azadî 2.9 km
- Kurdistan 3.8 km
- Erbil Province 28 km
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