Sulaymaniyah

Also known as Slemani, Silemani, Sulaimani

Sulaymaniyah () or Slemani (), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar, Goizha and Qaiwan Mountains in the northeast, Baranan Mountain in the south and the Tasluja Hills in the west. The city has a semi-arid climate with very hot dry summers and cold wet winters.

OverviewAI-generated

Sulaymaniyah is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Established in 1784, the city is located in the Sulaymaniyah District and the Shahrizor eyalet. It is twinned with Tucson and is a member of the Creative Cities Network. The local languages used are Sorani and Kurdish.

The city has a population of 878,146 and sits at an elevation of 882 meters above sea level. It operates in the UTC+03:00 time zone. Sulaymaniyah is described in the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition.

Synthesized by Vinony from 50 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

The entry is geolocated on the map, across 3 mapped points.

Within Vinony's link graph, Sulaymaniyah is referenced by 850 other articles, and connects out to The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, Arabic and Kurds.

Vinony files it under 1784 establishments in the Ottoman Empire, Cities in Iraqi Kurdistan and District capitals of Iraq.

Its subject is documented across 67 Wikipedia language editions.

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Place details

Locality: سلێمانی
Region: پارێزگای سلێمانی
Country: العراق
Population: 878,146
Timezone: Asia/Baghdad

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

87US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 29.3 µg/m³
PM10: 127.6 µg/m³

As of 2026-10-08 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Sulaymaniyah
Settlement.settlement_type: City
Settlement.pushpin_map: Iraq
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: left
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location in Iraq
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type1: Federal region
Settlement.subdivision_type2: Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name2: Sulaymaniyah
Settlement.subdivision_name3: Sulaymaniyah
Settlement.subdivision_type3: District
Settlement.leader_title: Governor
Settlement.leader_name: Haval Abubakir
Settlement.elevation_ft: 2895
Settlement.area_total_km2: 266
Settlement.population_rank: 8th in Iraq
Settlement.population_density_km2: 3200
Settlement.website: https://slemani.gov.krd/

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: big city
Part of: Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Country: Iraq
Located in: Sulaymaniyah District
Population: 878146
Elevation: 882
Time zone: UTC+03:00
Capital of: Shahrizor eyalet
Official website: www.sharawani.com
Image: Sulaymaniyah1.jpg

Show 12 more facts

Commons category: Sulaymaniyah
topic's main category: Category:Sulaymaniyah
twinned administrative body: Tucson
category for people born here: Category:Births in Sulaymaniyah
category of associated people: Category:People from Sulaymaniyah
category for people who died here: Category:Deaths in Sulaymaniyah
inception: 1784-00-00
language used: Kurdish
P8168: Janine Tischer
member of: Creative Cities Network
described by source: Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
P12749: October 2

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

See

Sulaimaniya has a great view from outside, above the mountains around it (Goizha, Azmar, Piramagrwn and Baranan). The city is in the phase of transition from a usual city to a tourism city in every sense of the word.

thumb|right|Archaeological artifacts on display in the Sulaymaniyah Museum

Do

There is a bowling centre, Azadi park and other places to visit. thumb|Chavy Land fun park

Buy

The Zara supermarket (Go to the East end of Salm Street, where the gate to the bazaar area is, and then 300 meters North, uphill. Or go to Southeast corner of Azadi park. In either case, look for a large silver dome on top of its building.) has appointed itself as the source for Western products. They don't have much, but they are more likely to have something else than other stores.

Drink

Alcohol is not very hard to find, with many restaurants serving it and bars at the hotels. Spirits such as vodka are popular.

Sleep

thumb|Titanic Hotel Sulaimaniya has some fine international standard hotels with all the expected facilities.

Go next

Erbil is a 2-3 hour drive away on good roads. To find a shared taxi, go to the new Terminal called Garage of Baghdad, which is located in Tasluja west of Sulemania. A seat in a full taxi will be around 15,000 IQD (Sep 2022).

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

15 sections

Contents

History
Demographics
Geography and climate
Education
Culture
Economy
Tourism
Museums
Sites
Politics
Twin towns – sister cities
Transportation
See also
References
External links

The modern city of Slemani was founded in 1784 by the Ottoman-Kurdish prince Ibrahim Pasha Baban in Collaboration with Azim Beg and Haji Aziz Bey Aghal Dwanze Swarey Meriwane Jawamer Agha Rangena, who named it after his father Sulayman Pasha. Slemani was the capital of the historic Kurdish principality of Baban from 1784 to 1850.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sulaymaniyah” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.