The lighthouse of the mitzfariyah. Here is the memory of the era of Saladin

Emad Al-Shammari-Arbil

In the northern Iraqi province of Erbil, the lighthouse of the northern Iraqi province of Erbil left its mark for more than ten centuries. All the circumstances of nature and life's developments have remained a milestone for the history of successive Iraqi civilizations and have been telling their stories for generations.

The name of the lamp was also called the lighthouse of Jolie, which in Kurdish means the beacon of the wilderness. This name was called because of its distance from the city at the time of its construction during the reign of Sultan Muzaffaruddin Kawkaburi, the son of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, who ruled Erbil from 567 to 589 AH, In Erbil after the castle, which is not far from it, according to Professor of History at the University of Salahaddin Dr. Ahmed Mirza.

Sahar Omranha
It is not the resistance of the circumstances because of the red stone from which the lighthouse was built. It is the only one that draws attention to it. It is the geometry that has made it the focus of many, Mirza said in his talk to Al-Jazeera Net, adding that it consists of a base of equal lengths in six, The lower part, which has two gates, each leads to a ladder that reaches the end of the lighthouse, and each ladder has 110 degrees. Salman meets only at the beginning of the earth and the end of the lighthouse at the top.

The upper part is quite different from the lower, it is cylindrical, narrowing its diameter as it rises to the top, and has outlets for lighting and air access, and has been enhanced by the beautiful inscriptions and Islamic motifs that have been smeared from the outside.

These factors combined took their prominent place and reflected the extent of the development reached by the Muslims in that period of time, and what makes it beautiful that it is the highest lighthouse in Iraq, with a height of 45 meters but now it is 35 meters high after the destruction and fall of 8 meters in the 1920s Following a strong lightning strike, surpassing its counterparts such as the humpback hump and the Daqouq minaret.

Importance
Mirza believes that its importance is not different from most of the lighthouses that were built during that period and the periods close to it, and its purpose was to monitor the fear of any external attack on the city and for the purpose of observing the crescent of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. For this reason it was built high in comparison to other contemporary buildings, and its presence is a witness imposing itself on the history of Arbil and presented its urban development, which carries this masterpiece of building and the beauty of inscriptions.

Because of this importance, it was restored in 2009 by consolidating its foundations and then moving to the rest of its parts without affecting its cultural value. This was done in cooperation with an Italian company and the Antiquities Department of the Ministry of Culture in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

As the archeological monuments of historical dimensions, it also has cultural dimensions, as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Youth in the Kurdistan region of Iraq Salar Osman, considering that the lighthouse reflects the deep culture between the various spectrums and components of Erbil and may play a role in peaceful coexistence due to cultural exchange between successive religions in the city .

Attractions
Not surprisingly, the lighthouse is a tourist landmark, most of the archaeological sites are points of attraction, and this is enough reason to take care of them.

The spokesman for the Tourism Authority in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Nader Rusti, said that the local government in Erbil transferred about 80 square meters around the lighthouse to a park in 2006 after the place was a garbage dump, noting that this action was for several reasons, the most important of which is to maintain the lighthouse and show its value To integrate with the most important elements of tourism development and become another location to attract tourists in Erbil.

Roasti added that this goal has been achieved and the place has become known as the Menafarah Lighthouse and attracts many tourist groups. It is also full of restaurants and cafés. An event theater has been built and its gardens witness carnivals and celebrations for a large number of national occasions and even weddings.

He points out that the development of the tourist site prompted the competent authorities to build dozens of statues of the most famous Kurdish poets and writers near them.