Erbil is Middle East Capital of Tourism

However it is not all good news for visitors to the city. As one local points out most of the development is restricted to the city centre and the main streets while many Iraqi Kurdish still live in poverty. Another recent complaint about Erbil, and about tourism in Iraqi Kurdistan in general, had to do with the higher prices in the region and the lack of any official price controls. Mayor Hadi denied that this was a problem though.‬

Although they don’t see military helicopters hovering overhead constantly, even here, visitors will often find they have guns pointed at them. Iraqi Kurdish military are well known for their professional and polite manner – it's something that is often mentioned, particularly by Iraqis coming form other cities, who compare the Iraqi Kurdish military to the security forces in their own hometowns.

Unusually there had been some recent complaints. But when questioned about it, an army officer checking tourists' passports at one entrance to the city just before the recent holiday of Eid, said that this problem had been resolved. The officer spoke fluent Arabic and he said the rudeness had come from a language issue; the officers involved didn’t speak enough Arabic but after senior officers looked into the case, the matter had been resolved.

In keeping with Iraqi Kurdistan's good attitude toward visitors, the Iraqi Kurdish officers were stressing the importance of having fluent Arabic speakers on duty at border points.

One of the city's, and indeed the region's, biggest problems is a lack of political freedoms. “Erbil and other cities in Iraqi Kurdistan are developing tourism at the expense of human rights,” notes a local journalist. “Reports by various international human rights organisations are continuously commenting on this.”

(Source: Niqash)

(Picture: Erbil Citadel)