Located at the edge of a mountain is Akre city, a city rich with historical sites like no other. A piece of history tucked along the valleys and ridges of northeast of Akre is a special architectural structure called the qishla of Akre. Its location, being close to the bazar and the center of the city, has made the qishla a sanctuary for people where they can relax and rest during the busy days of the crowded marketplace.
The word ‘Qishla’ might sound foreign for many, and this is because the word is of Turkish origin that means a place where soldiers stay, a police station or military building. The Ottomans built many qishlas in Iraq as a safe place for their soldiers, like Baghdad qishla, Kirkuk qishla, and the famous Akre qishla among many others.
The qishla of Akre is not the only qishla existing in Kurdistan, however, it is not less artistically beautiful than the rest by any means whatsoever. The exact building date of the qishla of Akre is not known just like the rest of the qishlas in Kurdistan, but it is believed to date back to late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century.
According to the architectural style, it is believed that the qishla of Akre also shares the same period as the other qishlas. However, confusion arises due to the stone installed above the main gate, because it is clearly inscribed with ‘Serai Aqra 1352 A.H. 1933 B.C.’ It is still not entirely known whether this year refers to the date of building the qishla or only the date of its renovation, especially since, when carefully examined, it seems that the stone was installed at a later date, maybe after the end of the Ottoman rule and during the formation of the Iraqi state.
How the Qishla of Akre is Constructed
Built in a shape of a square, the qishla takes up to 1149 square meters of space in the northeast of Akre. The main gate of the qishla is a 2.6m × 2.43m rectangular made of three half circles integrated into each other. Looking at its architectural design, the qishla consists of two floors, the basement, and a spacious yard. The 35 rooms are divided into three wings of the qishla, considering that the south wing contains no architectural buildings.
Entering from the main gate, visitors are greeted with the 600 square meter space that consists the yard in front of the rooms. Not only that, but the qishla also has a hall in the northeast part and two balconies. There are two identical set of stairs that take you from the first floor to the second, but there is only one set of stairs to take you to the rooftop from the second floor, and it is located in the northwest part.
The basement is located at the right of the northeast of the qishla, and its door is at the end corner of the hall with three steps of stairs linking it to the basement. But it is to be noted that this basement is no ordinary basement, because it was sort of a construction that was deep and always cool and used as a storage.
In the second floor of the qishla, most of the rooms have a fireplace with their chimneys going up through the walls.
The materials used in building the qishla were all manually extracted and made in the absence of modern technologies, which shows the level of proficiency and craftsmanship of the builders. Stones were a basic material, especially limestones and sandstones since Akre is located among mountains and it has different types of stone mines. Crushed stones or gravel and sand were used as a mixture instead of modern day cement. Even the door and window frames were made out of stones, and the rest of the windows and doors were made from beautifully carved iron and wood without welding them. These types of windows are seen in many other historical houses in Kurdistan, like in Erbil citadel houses.
Factors Behind the Qishla’s Ruin
It is not uncommon to hear about a historical site collapsing, however, it cannot be traced back to only one or two reasons, because there could be many reasons contributing to such an outcome, like in the case of the qishla of Akre.
1. Historical Events: A building that ages more than one or two hundred years has definitely seen its share of wars and conflicts, and especially since Kurdistan has always been a disputed area along the history.
2. Human Factors: This includes all the tampering that the qishla has gone through throughout the long years from burning the place to destroying the designs on the walls and all in between. For example, using the qishla as a governmental building since the time the qishla was built till now and additions to it, like a room added in the second floor and a big gate at the north east of the building. Another obvious example would be trying to restore the historical site that ends up in messing with the original characteristics of the structure. When restoring the northern east of the qishla, the windows had been removed and the bathrooms no longer exist there, which is considered a drastic change.
3. Natural Causes: Floods, earthquakes, rain, wind, snow, and humidity are among the most obvious natural factors that have adversely affected the qishla of Akre. For instance, hard winters with heavy snowfall in the mountainous region have clearly devastated the building.
4. Geological Factors: Having many types of fungus and living creatures that get their food from decaying materials is another factor contributing to the damage that has been done to the qishla of Akre. The fungus is easily seen on many walls of the qishla which makes the walls vulnerable and in danger of collapsing.
Renovation and Restoration of the Qishla
Focusing on the walls of the qishla, especially the parts that have fallen off, it can be noticed that indeed the qishla has gone through renovations. The Iraqi government is one of those who made alterations, and then after 1991, it was used as a governmental building as a prison, a police station, a courtroom and an archive room among other usages.
Now a budget of 177 million Iraqi dinars was dedicated to restore the qishla to its original state. It is hoped to protect the historic site from all the reasons that might be the cause of any damage in the future.
“We have formally asked the government several times to help us restore and protect this historical place that was not possible before because of the economic crises,” Hemn Shamal, director of archeology in Akre, told BasNews.
"But now, serious actions are being taken by the Ministry of Municipality and Tourism of the Kurdistan Region to save the qishla from falling apart and to save it once and for all in a professional way. So according to the minister Sasan Awni, a budget of 177 million dinar was allocated. The work will start after selecting a team to carry out the project. Even though the whole project cannot be finished by this budget alone, but we are hoping to get more funding to finish the work in a proper way,” the official added.
Opening two museums and displaying the qishla as a historical heritage for performing festivals and other cultural events are a part of the after-restoration plans. One of the museums will exhibit historical artifacts that represent the history of Akre, and the second museum will be for displaying the cultural heritage of Akre’s residence.
Any action taken to save the qishla of Akre is saving a piece of Kurdistan’s well-earned history, because the scars on the qishla show the journey of not only the people of Akre, but also the people of Kurdistan.
[Original Kurdish report by Sara Sardar].