Erbil temporarily on UNESCO world heritage list

Meanwhile, officials from UNESCO who attended the ceremony were greatly optimistic about the development. “Once the Erbil Citadel will be listed as a World Heritage Site, the city -- and the Kurdistan region in general -- will attract a lot of international attention. Erbil will attract a lot of visitors and tourists, which automatically will increase prosperity and investments in the area,” said Mohammed Djelid, director of UNESCO in Iraq.

Situated in the heart of Kurdistan’s capital, the Erbil Citadel was proposed as a world heritage site by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007. On January 8, 2010, the Erbil Citadel made it to the tentative list and on March 9, it became a temporary world heritage site. Today, the citadel is a prime tourist attraction in Erbil and includes the Kurdish Textile Museum, an antique store, and a souvenir shop.