Erbil Citadel, Iraq

Erbil Citadel, Iraq
Despite the fact that the so-called Islamic State has moved to within 100 miles of the city's boundaries, Erbil is one of Iraqi Kurdistan's safest cities. Erbil is noted for its modern malls and ancient landmarks, and the Arab Council of Tourism named it the Arab tourism capital for 2014.

Erbil Citadel, which was founded over 6,000 years ago, is regarded to be one of the world's oldest continually inhabited locations. The Citadel is bordered by a lower town that developed into the present city of Erbil and is positioned atop an archaeological tell rising roughly 98 feet above the plain. It was a major Neo-Assyrian metropolis, particularly during the reign of King Ashurbanipal (669–627 BCE). In one of the most famous wars of antiquity, Alexander the Great fought the Persian king Darius III in the plains of Erbil in 331 BCE. The city was home to great poets, historians, and scholars during the Middle Ages, and later functioned as the Ottoman Empire's cultural and administrative hub