the old citadel of erbil in Kurdistan _hawler slides explains the architectural features of the citadel and its history before thousands of years. it also shows the interior design of the old decades . listed by the unisco as one of the world heritage.

1. Prepared by:
Aysha Asaad
Lujain Ahmed
Marwa Rizgar
Silvia Jamal
Zahra Sirwan Supervised by:Mr.Nawzad
Ishik university
ERBIL-KURDISTAN

2. Content:
• Location
• History
• Housing typology
• Architectural features
-windows
-eaves
-ceiling
-doors
-arches
• Materials
• Reference

8. The Erbil Citadel, locally called Qalat Erbil is a tell or
occupied mound, and the historical city center
of Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The citadel has been inscribed on the World Heritage
List since 21 June 2014.
The earliest evidence for occupation of the citadel
mound dates to the 5th millennium BC, and possibly
earlier.

10. Erbil citadel in 1932

20. Most citadel houses were inward-looking and, therefore, had few or no
external windows. Windows were usually small by today's standards-
often no more than 50-70 centimeters wide and about 1.2 meters high-
and obtained daylight from the courtyard. They were usually made of
wood and often designed with either semi-circular or segmental tops
and nearly always covered by wrought-iron screens.
Windows of important rooms were usually framed with stone or
marble and had elaborate screens and sometimes provided with
colored glass.

22. Wrought-iron screens
came in two patterns
the most ubiquitous of
which was the typical
spiral motif found in
many parts of Iraq, or
with simple parallel
bars

23. Most courtyard openings
at roof level were
provided with very
elaborate curved
eaves. These eaves, which
projected some 60
centimeters or more over
the courtyard, were
usually constructed of
wood and decorated in
bright colors. Their sole
function was to create a
very pleasing framing
effect for the courtyard.
EAVES

25. As a general rule, ceilings of most ordinary rooms and functional spaces were left to
expose their construction that was based on timber joists covered by matting. In
contrast, important rooms such as guest and reception rooms of the upper floor had
elaborately paneled and decorated ceilings.
Others were paneled in wood but hand-painted with floral and arabesque decorations
often in bright colors. Recurrent decorative motifs include stars, circles, octagons,
lozenges, and floral and geometric patterns painted in cobalt-blue or other colors.

26. Ceilings often had a central painted medallion
in the middle to create a focal point of
attention although, sometimes, a three-
dimensional pendant medallion was
employed.
On rare occasions some main room ceilings
are vaulted with either exposed brickwork or
plastered and then painted with decoration

28. DOOR

29. DOORS
• Doors came in two types- Main
entrance doors and internal
doors. The main entrance door,
which was part of a larger gateway
design, was usually made of thick
solid wood for extra security and
often studded with iron nails. They
came with elaborate wooden or iron
locks that required big keys often
more than 20 centimeters long.

30. • Internal doors of important rooms
were usually framed in stone or
marble, made of fine solid teak wood,
and came in two pieces. They were
often decorated with rich carved
floral patterns and sometimes even
inlaid with mother-of-pearl
frames. Other rooms had simpler
doors and many small functional
space s were left with no doors- just
openings for entry.

31. These small windows at
the top of the walls is
widely used in those old
house construction
,those windows are
used for ventilation and
to escape the hot from
the house in summer
times.

32. ARCHES

33. Arches
The different types of arches found at the
citadel are as follows:
1. Round Arch: is a semi-circular arch which
was employed commonly for arcades,
windows, and niches
2. Pointed Arch: is the typical arch used in
Islamic architecture. It was employed in the
demolished South Gate of the citadel

34. 3. Segmental Arch: is a segment
of a circle and was used for
windows, doors, and niches.
4. Composite Arches: There are
so many variations and
combinations of arches that
make it quite difficult to have
them classified in any coherent
system.

35. Materials
The perimeter wall of the citadel is not a
continuous fortification wall, but
consists of the façades of approximately
100 houses that have been built against
each other.
Because they have been built on or
near the steep slope of the citadel
mound, many of these façades were
strengthened by buttresses to prevent
their collapse or subsidence

36. Some details, such as
the round stone
arches, marble facing
of some courtyard
walls, and some door
details, were probably
built by masons from
Mosul. Even some
painted decorations,
such as the typical
cobalt-blue of Mosul
are often found on
walls of houses here

37. Thank you

38. Reference
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_of_Erbil
• http://alkimyaspainconsultants.com/project/studies-for-
conservation-and-restoration-at-the-erbil-citadel/
• http://www.erbilcitadel.org/gallery/architecturale/index.php