Hanging Out in Hawler
This weekend, I joined a day trip to Hawler organised by AUIS. I was so excited as I have never been there before. So, on Friday at 7.30 AM the university bus picked us up in Bakrajo and then went to Pak city to picked up some staffs living there. It was around 20 people joined the trip.
Hawler known as Erbil (or Arbil), is the capital of Kurdistan Region. There are approximately 1.3 million people living in the city. Hawler is the 4th largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. It took about 3 hours from Sulaymani to Hawler and we passed several check points along the way (so make sure that you have your residency card when you go to Hawler!). We crossed mountainous area which is so dry and full of rocks. It is so much different from the mountain areas in Indonesia which mostly look so green and full of trees. Well, every place is unique.
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| On the way to Hawler, view from our bus |
We arrived in Hawler around 11.30 Am, we strictly went to Citadel. Citadel is an old settlement built in 6000 BC, it rises approximately 30 meters above the ground level of the lower city and located in the heart of Hawler. Citadel has been said as the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world.
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| View of Citadel from the lower part of the city |
Right now, the High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization (HCECR) is working on the revitalization of this historical place. When we got there, most part of the Citadel was closed and it started to rain. However, it was good to be able to see the old building and be there in a moment. I am not sure how long it will take to finish the work. It would be good to visit another time after they have done revitalised it.
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| Information board regarding the revitalisation work |
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| Some part of the Citadel's settlement |
View from the top of Citadel
Since there were not so much to see in the Citadel, we went back to the lower part of the city (city centre) and heading to the Bazaar. I love to see Citadel from the Bazaar.
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| Citadel and the local shops |
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| View of Citadel from the Bazaar |
We had big lunch in the Bazaar. After that, we continued our journey to the Family mall. We did some shopping there and went back to Sulaymani around 7 pm. We arrived in Bakrajo at 11.30 pm. It was a long trip but fun.
