8,000 years of inhabitation are proven in this unique urban concentration, making it
the longest inhabited place on the Earth. This has been made possible by rich water
sources, still available today, which have never dried out in recorded history.
Before World War II water was 2–5 m below the surface, but today it is pumped
from a depth of 40 m and its quantity is not enough. Erbil is dependent on other
sources. Before World War II, Erbil had approximately 40,000 residents, whereas
now there are about 1.5 million, mostly Kurdish Muslims and a minority of
Christians.
The historic city centre, the Citadel of Erbil (Al-Qala Citadel), is formed by a
vast complex of buildings and narrow streets enclosed by town walls (Sahid 2004).
The fortified Citadel itself is situated on an artificial elevation of 28–32 m high
above the surrounding countryside, which is now the city of Erbil. Well-known
records and archaeological finds proved layers of Assyrian, Akkadian, Babylonian,
Persian and Greek Pre-Arabic settlements. Fortifications were primarily built in the
twelfth century.
The Citadel is spread out over more than 10 ha of land. Among more than
800 buildings, traditional one to two-story residential houses with internal atriums,
brick walling and clay roofs on joists prevail. Only some of them have a basement.
About half of them are privately owned, while the rest are owned by regional and
central governments. Slightly more than 20 of the residential houses are, according
to the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) data, in an
acceptable and well-kept condition. The rest are in urgent need of restoration.
Many important buildings have rich interior decorations with painted niches and
ornaments, carved doors and arcades supported by timber or marble columns. The
biggest houses have their own historic fountains in the central atria. The Citadel has
two mosques and one public bath. Important parts of the fortification are three
gates – two of them, the new and old gate, allow entrance of vehicles, and one is for
pedestrians. The construction of two access roads (and also one pedestrian path) has
caused progressive changes in the tell topography. New access roads were created,
so the state of hillsides has been changed. Slope tells hillsides are strongly affected
by erosion, which is mainly caused by poor Citadel drainage (Justa and Houska
2006).
Before Iraq became a totalitarian state, the citadel was the traditional centre of
the city and the province. It was a place where prominent families, representing the
intellectual elite of Irbil, lived. The citadel was divided into a few quarters formed
by palaces and burgess brownstone houses. They were concentrated around the
public bath and two mosques.
During the totalitarian era, almost all palaces were bulldozed and the main gate
of the fortress was torn down (in the 1980s a new, modern, main portal was built in
a retro style). The medieval bath and the mosques were concreted. The original
inhabitants were expelled and the citadel was settled by refugees from mountain
villages that were destroyed by the regime. Seven thousand provincial refugees
changed the rich fortress to a slum (Justa 2005). The last known renovation took
place in the year 1982, when the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage renovated
seven houses.
42
K. Pavelka and E. Matous ˇkova ´
the longest inhabited place on the Earth. This has been made possible by rich water
sources, still available today, which have never dried out in recorded history.
Before World War II water was 2–5 m below the surface, but today it is pumped
from a depth of 40 m and its quantity is not enough. Erbil is dependent on other
sources. Before World War II, Erbil had approximately 40,000 residents, whereas
now there are about 1.5 million, mostly Kurdish Muslims and a minority of
Christians.
The historic city centre, the Citadel of Erbil (Al-Qala Citadel), is formed by a
vast complex of buildings and narrow streets enclosed by town walls (Sahid 2004).
The fortified Citadel itself is situated on an artificial elevation of 28–32 m high
above the surrounding countryside, which is now the city of Erbil. Well-known
records and archaeological finds proved layers of Assyrian, Akkadian, Babylonian,
Persian and Greek Pre-Arabic settlements. Fortifications were primarily built in the
twelfth century.
The Citadel is spread out over more than 10 ha of land. Among more than
800 buildings, traditional one to two-story residential houses with internal atriums,
brick walling and clay roofs on joists prevail. Only some of them have a basement.
About half of them are privately owned, while the rest are owned by regional and
central governments. Slightly more than 20 of the residential houses are, according
to the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) data, in an
acceptable and well-kept condition. The rest are in urgent need of restoration.
Many important buildings have rich interior decorations with painted niches and
ornaments, carved doors and arcades supported by timber or marble columns. The
biggest houses have their own historic fountains in the central atria. The Citadel has
two mosques and one public bath. Important parts of the fortification are three
gates – two of them, the new and old gate, allow entrance of vehicles, and one is for
pedestrians. The construction of two access roads (and also one pedestrian path) has
caused progressive changes in the tell topography. New access roads were created,
so the state of hillsides has been changed. Slope tells hillsides are strongly affected
by erosion, which is mainly caused by poor Citadel drainage (Justa and Houska
2006).
Before Iraq became a totalitarian state, the citadel was the traditional centre of
the city and the province. It was a place where prominent families, representing the
intellectual elite of Irbil, lived. The citadel was divided into a few quarters formed
by palaces and burgess brownstone houses. They were concentrated around the
public bath and two mosques.
During the totalitarian era, almost all palaces were bulldozed and the main gate
of the fortress was torn down (in the 1980s a new, modern, main portal was built in
a retro style). The medieval bath and the mosques were concreted. The original
inhabitants were expelled and the citadel was settled by refugees from mountain
villages that were destroyed by the regime. Seven thousand provincial refugees
changed the rich fortress to a slum (Justa 2005). The last known renovation took
place in the year 1982, when the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage renovated
seven houses.
42
K. Pavelka and E. Matous ˇkova ´