ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Changes will be made to Erbil Citadel's interior design after the local government dedicated a budget for its further renovation, announced the governor’s office late Friday, adding that restaurants and cafes will be opened to attract tourists.
The governor’s office said in a statement that $135,000 has been allocated to “renovate” the citadel which has been occupied for about 6,000 years.
“Work is underway to renovate the main street of the citadel,” read the statement, adding that electricity has been provided to the historic tell through underground electric transmission lines.
“In the near future, restaurants and cafes will be opened so that it becomes an important tourist spot in the heart of Erbil city,” added the office.
The citadel has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2014.
“Erbil Citadel is a rare surviving example of a formerly fortified settlement which has grown up on the top of an imposing ovoid-shaped tell,” says UNESCO on its website.
People’s access to most parts of the citadel has been limited.
Renovation efforts, funded by UNESCO, began in 2009.
“Most of them [tourists] visiting here take a tour and leave due to lack of restaurants and cafes,” Nihad Latif, Head of the Erbil Citadel Restoration Commission, said in 2019.
Millions of tourists, mostly from Iraqi central and southern provinces, visit the Kurdistan Region annually, with most of them choosing Erbil province.
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