Identification of cultural properties of Arab District, Erbil, Iraq
This research aims to identify cultural properties of the Arab District, located in Erbil City, Iraq. Being one of the oldest constantly inhabited cities, Erbil City has great heritage and cultural values, including its Citadel, which is in UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2014. This distric...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/69771/1/frsb%202017%204%20ir.pdf |
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| Summary: | This research aims to identify cultural properties of the Arab District, located in
Erbil City, Iraq. Being one of the oldest constantly inhabited cities, Erbil City
has great heritage and cultural values, including its Citadel, which is in
UNESCO’s World Heritage List since 2014. This district was the first inhabited
area outside the citadel and, similarly to it, has highly influenced the urban
fabric growth of the city and implemented the same kind of buildings, houses,
construction materials and ancient techniques as the ones present inside the
Citadel. However, there is no reliable information about the district neither
available documents for visitors, researchers or planners to consult. In order to
address this issue this thesis aims to identify the criteria based on UNESCO
requirement operational guidelines 2015 and analyse the cultural properties
present in Arab District, proposing a documentation framework that should be
archived for the need of future conservation works.
Using Arab District as a case study, the research adopts a qualitative method
in order to collect and analyse relevant information, including municipality
documents, observations, photographs and interviews with authorities and
specialists to confirm the authenticity of the data collected. In order to better
understand the cultural properties of the area, factors like historical
background, urban fabric, buildings and house typologies, are deeply analysed.
As main findings it is important to highlight the two types of house typologies,
composed by one or two floors, the three different types of courtyards, where
they are classified according to their rooms’ location and the simplicity of the
house facades built with bricks covered with shinny straw. It is also important to
mention the uniqueness of the types of facades elements, where it is possible
to find unique decorative elements, original voids, carpentry of doors and windows, exterior finishing and even internal facades. Focusing on urban, the
main findings focus on the urban form of Arab District, which was kept until
nowadays and represents almost a triangular shape. Narrow streets with high
spatial enclosure, promotes a higher social interaction. The results must be
stored in a database and turned available to the public, organized in
accordance to their nature and type, in an easy way to retrieve, understand and
consult. |
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