Sulamaniyah: a tourist attraction

Sulamaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is the region’s largest city with a population of over a million residents. Situated in a beautiful part of the region, it is literally surrounded by mountains—the Azmar Range, the Goizha Range, and the Qaiwan Range in the northeast, Baranan Mountain in the south and the Tasluja Hills in the west. In early winter there was already snow on the mountains.

It’s a wheat growing area and agriculture is still a strong economic contributor. Along with agriculture, tourism is also a major industry. Sulamaniyah attracts tourists from the region and abroad due to its scenery, security, culture, fertile valleys producing good food, and increasing investment value. Sharing its border with Iran, many tourists come from its neighbour country. In 2005, a new international airport opened with regular flights to Europe, Turkey in the north of the Kurdistan region, and the Middle East. It’s about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.

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