Population
1,500,000
Coordinates
36.191°, 44.009°
Region
Iraq
Views
3
The capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its towering citadel bears witness to six thousand years of life.
The city's history
Hewlêr (Erbil)
Hewlêr's roots trace to the 6th millennium BC. Sumerian and Assyrian texts call it Urbilum. A major centre of worship and site of an Ishtar temple, today its citadel crowns the city — a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014, packed with mud-brick and stone houses.
On the map
Other cities in Iraq
Other cities in Iraq
Iraq
Silêmanî (Sulaymaniyah)
The cultural capital of the Kurds, founded by Ibrahim Pasha Baban in 1784. Home to the most important Kurdish newspapers and modern poets.
Population · 800,000
Iraq
Duhok
The city of mountains and water in the north of the Kurdistan Region, and its gateway to Turkey.
Population · 350,000