Iraq/Kurdistan: Capital of Kurdish Iraq Goes from Backwater to Boomtown as It Fights to Achieve Independence

Nov 17, 2014 | Campbell MacDiarmid, National Post
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Erbil, Kurdistan Region — The nucleus of the city is a citadel rising 30 metres above the plains. The height represents the accretion of eight millenia of human settlement, making it perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited place on Earth. Until recently the city wasn’t much more than that — an isolated economic backwater. A decade ago trees in the city were burned for heating and the sky was thick with the yellow smoke of generators. Per capita GDP was less than $450.

Since then the economy has grown as fast as the city has sprawled through a series of concentric ring roads. Erbil today is dotted with parks and the skyline bristles with cranes and high-rises. The road from the airport’s marble-clad arrivals terminal has six lanes, speed cameras and a grass median with spiralling topiary. The cars are new, many with factory wrapping still on the seats. Land Rover and Jaguar dealerships have opened. Stores selling marble flooring, spa pools and chandeliers stand alongside ones selling Chinese whiteware and clothing in developments that make parts of the city look like a half-finished strip mall sprung up overnight. Fast food chains Pizza Hut and Hardee’s burgers cater to growing Western-style appetites. Per capita GDP across the region is estimated to be over $7,600.