Sulaymaniyah Governorate

As- Sulaymaniyah (Kurdish as- Sulaymaniya; Arab السليمانية, DMG as- Sulaymaniya ) is a province in the northeast of Iraq and lies on the Iranian border. The province is part of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. The capital is Sulaimaniyya. The governorate has a population of about 3.7 million; this may change as Article 136 of the new Iraqi constitution is applied. Accordingly, the district Kelar and Dschamdschamāl the governorate of Kirkuk would need to be reintegrated.

The majority of the population consists of Kurds. They speak the Sorani dialect. There are also Arabs, Turkmen and Syrians. About 99 percent of the population are Muslims.

Structure

Major cities in the province are Dschamdschamāl, Halabja and Ranya.

The districts of the province are:

  • Darbandikhan
  • Dschamdschamāl
  • Dukan
  • Halabja
  • Kalar
  • Penjwin
  • Pishdar
  • Ranya
  • Sharbazer
  • Sulaimaniyya

In the district Penjwin there is a border crossing to Iran.

On 15 October 2005 of 723 723 voters voted 98.96 % yes for the new constitution.

Security situation after the Gulf War in 2003

The government is still regarded as one of the safest in Iraq, with virtually no Islamist attacks. The reasons for this are called by the local authorities:

  • Experienced authorities in dealing with Islamist terrorists and Baathist followers
  • Excellent information through good intelligence and help from the population
  • Very homogeneous population ( Kurds ), therefore little risk that foreign terrorists could be covered by locals
  • Due to its location in the mountains only two access roads that are easy to control

Tourism

Sulaimaniyya enjoys particularly in spring and summer a large influx of Iraqi domestic tourists. The tolerable even in summer mountain climate and the excellent conditions for Iraqi security situation are probably the main arguments. In addition, the area is scenic. Popular destinations are the Dukan Lake or the Darbandikhan Lake.

Pictures of Sulaymaniyah Governorate

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