Rawandiz () is a city in the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, located in the

Erbil Governorate Erbil Governorate (; ) is a governorate of Iraq in the Kurdistan Region. It is the capital and economic hub of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordere ...

in Soran district, close to the borders with Iran and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is only 7 km from the city center of Soran city and it is located 10 km to the east of the

Bekhal Waterfall Bekhal Waterfall () is located in the mountainous northern part of the country in the Kurdistan Region, in Erbil Governorate. It is located 10 km west of Rawandiz and 135 km from Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is ...

. The city is 123 km from Erbil. The city along with the Soran district is surrounded by the Zagros mountain range; Korek Mountain is to the south, Hindren Mountain to the north, Zozik Mountain to the west, and Bradasot Mountain to the east. Rawandiz is populated entirely by

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

Etymology

The name Rawandiz (), gets its name from Kurdish noble family Rawwadi/Rawandi, they were a leading family of Hadhbāni Kurdish tribe.

History

In the time of the Neo Assyrian Empire, from the 10th to the 7th centuries BC, the area lay on the trading route to

Nineveh Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern ...

The area came under the rule of the

Emirate of Bradost Emirate of Bradost or Emirate of Biradost (, 1510–1609) was a hereditary Kurdish emirate, ruling roughly the area from Rawandiz to Targavar and Margavar south of Urmia at its height. The emirate was founded in 1510 and acted as a bufferzone ...

after the

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

in 1514. The town would later come under the rule of the

Soran Emirate Soran Emirate () was a medieval Kurdish emirate established before the conquest of Kurdistan by Ottoman Empire in 1514 and later revived by Emir Kor centered in Rawandiz from 1816 to 1836. Kor was ousted in an offensive by the Ottomans. Early ye ...

until 1836. In 1915, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the town was occupied by the Russians and Assyrians. The Rawandiz massacre took place, where the Kurdish Muslim population was massacred by the Russian army and allied Assyrian militants; after Nikolai Baratov's

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

recaptured the town, only 20 percent of the Kurdish population managed to survive. In 1922 the town was occupied by the Turks, until they were driven out at the end of the year. The British army occupied the town on 22 April 1923. The British decided to stay in place to await the arrival of a special commission to fix the border between Turkey and Iraq, believing that if they left the Turkish troops would return. Between 1928 and 1932 the British built a strategic road from

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

, through Rawandiz, to the Iranian border near modern-day Piranshahr. The construction of the road was directed by the New Zealand engineer A. M. Hamilton. In 1940, the population was 1970. As of July 2007, Rawandiz was undergoing major reconstruction. The

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

was being relocated to make room for a new road. In July 2011, in a response to a Turkish military offensive, local artists decided to paint the debris from the raids. In 1930, A. M. Hamilton noted: "it has always been a place of grim deeds and bloody retributions. Its greater and its lesser rulers alike have nearly all met with violent deaths and even today this reputation is being well earned". The anthropologist

Edmund Leach Sir Edmund Ronald Leach FRAI FBA (7 November 1910 – 6 January 1989) was a British social anthropologist and academic. He served as provost of King's College, Cambridge from 1966 to 1979. He was also president of the Royal Anthropolo ...

went to Rawandiz in 1938, to study the Rawandiz Kurds, intending to make this the subject of his thesis. His field trip had to be aborted because of the

Munich crisis The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudete ...

, but he nevertheless published his monograph "Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds" two years later.

Climate

Like most of Iraqi Kurdistan, Rawanduz has a hot-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csa'') with very hot dry summers and cool, wet winters. The winters see lows below

freezing Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...

in many nights, making

frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...

prevalent. Snowfall occurs occasionally.

Tourism

The striking scenery has been noted by a number of visitors to the region. A. M. Hamilton relates that the Rawanduz gorge was said to be the finest in Asia. The Pank Tourist Resort, which was opened in 2007, it was the first such

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

in Iraq. It includes a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

and other rides, including a

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

and Bobsled. Also includes a five-star hotel, restaurants, swimming pools, saunas, tennis courts, helipads and mini golf. Mount Korek is one of the top 10 destinations to visit in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, there is a 4 kilometer long Doppelmayr Teleferic (cable car) from its Bekhal Bottom station to Mount Korek. The mountain is developed as an international destination. The Resort has developed 132 villas and several rides in his project which is called "The Korek Mountain Resort & Spa". There are also restaurants, cafes and helipads. The resort is a summer retreat providing cool environs when the whole region reels under high temperatures. During winters, it turns into a Ski Resort.

Gallery

File:بيرويان.jpg,

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

2021 in Rawanduz District File:P20503-181554.jpg, Peruyan File:IMG-20210417-WA0002(وادي رواندز ( خه ره ند.jpg, Rawanduz Gorge File:(وادي رواندز ( خه ره ند.jpg, Rawanduz Gorge File:جنديان.png, Jundian File:Prince_muhammad_prince_of_soran.jpg , The statue of

Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz (Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Mîr Mihemed Paşa'', ; also known as ''Mirê Kor,'' Kor Mir- the "blind prince"; born in Rawandiz; 1783–1838) was the Kurds, Kurdish Mir (title), Mir of the Soran Emirate (1813–1838). H ...

File: مدفع_الأسطة_رجب.jpg, Wasta Rajab Cannon File:كاولوكا_وخلفها_مدينة_رواندز.jpg, Kawloka and behind it the city of Rawandiz File:Geli_Ali_Beg_Waterfall_2023.jpg,

Geli Ali Beg Waterfall Geli Ali Beg Waterfall () is located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which lies some 130 km north of Erbil. The waterfall is named after the Yazidis, Yazidi prince, Mîr Elî Beg who was executed by Muhammad Pasha of Rawanduz, Prince Muhammad ...

Rawanduz Rawandiz () is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, located in the Erbil Governorate in Soran, Iraq, Soran district, close to the Iran–Iraq border, borders with Iran and Iraq–Turkey border, Turkey. It is only 7 km from the city center ...

File:Xerend_Waterfall.jpg, Xerend Waterfall in

File:زي كردي.jpg, A girl in Kurdish dress in

References

{{Authority control Cities in Iraqi Kurdistan Kurdish settlements in Iraq Populated places in Erbil Governorate