See a city before time

Perched up in the clouds 211 miles north of Baghdad is Hawler, or Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan.

It came as a pleasant surprise when our guide told us this city, which has existed since the second millennium BC, was one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Historically, Hawler is situated on the strategic caravan route to India and China and is also known to historians for a battle which took place on the plains between Mosul and Erbil, during which Alexander the Great crushed the Persian Darius III in 331 BC.

Chequered past

During the Islamic era, Erbil was home to Muslim poets, historians and scholars. It later served as the cultural and administrative centre for the Ottoman Empire.

Farhad, my Kurdish-Swedish friend, has fond memories of Kurdistan Al- Iraq. He left Iraq in 1991 seeking another land to call his own. That was the time when the Iraqi regime dealt with Kurds brutally and hundreds of thousands of them were killed for no reason at all.

Farhad helped me revive long-lost memories of that first trip to Kurdistan. He sent me photographs he had taken — of mountains and undulating slopes. One image I used on my laptop's desk-top, the other became the image I see whenever my PC desktop comes alive.

Memories remain

We talked about the waterfalls which run along the mountains. The water was cool and its transparency reminded us of ice cubes.

Villagers tie water bottles and foodstuff that needs to be cooled in the waters. The result is better than what a fridge yields!

Farhad sighed. He told me: "It is spring here in Sweden, flowers are blooming, everything is in shades of pink, orange and yellow, but the scent of my country still lingers in my mind."

I walk down memory lane and I have my friend to assist me on the journey.

I was a young girl when I visited Kurdistan with my family. I have a single enchanted vivid vision of a castle. Or was it a fort?, I ask. He smiles while looking at his hands, not seeing them really, as his mind's eye looks at the endearing image of Erbil, shining brilliantly in the golden Iraqi sun.

Erbil Citadel was settled more than 8,000 years ago. The citadel, which rises some 25m above a surrounding city of 750,000 inhabitants, boasts a plentiful supply of groundwater, which sustained Erbil's population through a millennia of sieges.

Fortified with history

I could not believe my ears — 8,000 years — and at that time was this city called Hawler, or Erbil?

Farhad confirms by nodding his head, he sweeps his arm around the room as if Erbil is situated around the corner, and says: "The ancient tell or hill has not yet been explored. The stone wall of the citadel dominates the plains of Adiaben, some fifty yards below. It contains three separate quarters — al-Sarray, al-Takia, and al-Tokhana — and around 500 houses.

Long ago, the guide said, people reached the fort through two narrow streets, one reserved for men and one for women.

Today, one of the streets has been widened to allow vehicles to pass. One of the houses attributed to Mullah Saleh, a prominent Kurdish figure residing in the area, has been transformed into a museum and library. An 18th-century bath has also been restored.

Erbil was attacked by the Mongols in 1235, but the Kurds retained control of the citadel until 1258 when the Mongols with, the complicity of Badr El Din Lulu, finally won it. A governor was appointed, but he soon died. After a horrific massacre by the Mongols, many of Erbil's inhabitants emigrated to Mosul.

Today, Erbil boasts many industries, such as tobacco processing, rug making and dairy products.

Erbil today is moving to a new level in its growth and economic development. One of the world's leading companies in the hospitality industry today, the Kempinski Hotels, is in the process of constructing a hotel and resort that meets the highest international standards. Kurdistan Al Iraq has become the commercial and tourism gateway to the rest of Iraq. The gateway, open to friends and neighbours alike, is where ancient roads spiral through history and the modern world takes us on a truly magical tour.

This land of tears of the past, has emerged like a butterfly in the sun, opening its arms to embrace the future.

Go there...Erbil

From the UAE
From Dubai: Kurdistan Airlines flies twice a week.
Fare: Dh1,800