Town of Soran
Encyclopedia
Diana is a village in Erbil Governorate, northern Iraq
. Diana is the capital of Soran district which has a population of approximately 125,000, of which 64% were refugees who returned to Iraq
within the last ten years. The town has mushroomed from a small village in the 1990s, and is expected to increase within the next ten years by a further 50,000 people.
The name of name Diana is derived from the Kurdish
word for "Christian" since it was settled initially by Assyrian
Christians.
The Soran District in particular has been flooded with returning refugees from Iran
, where they fled between 1974 and 1989. The population grew from 27,000 in 1991, before the Kurdish uprising, to about 125,000 in the last fifteen years. Most of these returnees settled in and around Soran, unable to return to their villages which had been destroyed by the former regime’s army, or unwilling to return to locations still under threat of Turkish bombings and incursions and PKK existence there.
The Soran name basically was changed from Siddeeq to Soran, Siddeeq was a camp which was constructed in the late 70s and settled with Kurdish inhabitants from with populations in surroundign areas whom were forcefully displaced by Saddam Hussein
's regime. After the uprising in 1991, siddeeq, which is an Arabic name changed to original the Kurdish name of Soran. However the city of Diyana has kept its name.
Diana is located on Hamilton Road connecting Arbil
to Iran through Hajomaran (a sub-district of Choman district).
and Bahdini accents of Kurdish are equally common and used in the region. Persian
is widely spoken along with the two accents of Kurdish because a large number of the inhabitants of the town are returnees from Iran, and a large number of them were even born and raised in Iran. Assyrians of Hawdiyaan village and Diyana speak Assyrian as their native language along with Kurdish and Arabic and have their own Syriac schools school.
of Soran district is Kirmanj Izzat who was appointed by the Governor of Erbil.
the most important and famous is Alibag Water fall which on the 5,000 Dinar Iraqi bill
the Jundian spring that has become a very nice place for the tourists to visit after the last renovation.
the Famous and huge Bexal (Bekhal) spring which falls down from the high hill is only few miles away from the city.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Diana is the capital of Soran district which has a population of approximately 125,000, of which 64% were refugees who returned to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
within the last ten years. The town has mushroomed from a small village in the 1990s, and is expected to increase within the next ten years by a further 50,000 people.
The name of name Diana is derived from the Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
word for "Christian" since it was settled initially by Assyrian
Assyrian
-In antiquity:*ancient Assyria**the Old Assyrian period **the Middle Assyrian period **the Neo-Assyrian period *Either of two provinces of the Persian Empire:**Achaemenid Assyria...
Christians.
History
The town was originally inhabited by Assyrians albeit ruled by Kurdish Aghas.The Soran District in particular has been flooded with returning refugees from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, where they fled between 1974 and 1989. The population grew from 27,000 in 1991, before the Kurdish uprising, to about 125,000 in the last fifteen years. Most of these returnees settled in and around Soran, unable to return to their villages which had been destroyed by the former regime’s army, or unwilling to return to locations still under threat of Turkish bombings and incursions and PKK existence there.
The Soran name basically was changed from Siddeeq to Soran, Siddeeq was a camp which was constructed in the late 70s and settled with Kurdish inhabitants from with populations in surroundign areas whom were forcefully displaced by Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's regime. After the uprising in 1991, siddeeq, which is an Arabic name changed to original the Kurdish name of Soran. However the city of Diyana has kept its name.
Diana is located on Hamilton Road connecting Arbil
Arbil
Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...
to Iran through Hajomaran (a sub-district of Choman district).
Languages
Both SoraniSoranî
Soranî is the name of a Kurdish language that is spoken in Iran and Iraq. Soranî is one of the main Kurdish languages, which are a branch of the Iranian languages.- Name :...
and Bahdini accents of Kurdish are equally common and used in the region. Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
is widely spoken along with the two accents of Kurdish because a large number of the inhabitants of the town are returnees from Iran, and a large number of them were even born and raised in Iran. Assyrians of Hawdiyaan village and Diyana speak Assyrian as their native language along with Kurdish and Arabic and have their own Syriac schools school.
Government
The current MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Soran district is Kirmanj Izzat who was appointed by the Governor of Erbil.
Tourism
There are nice natural places around the city which makes people all around Iraq to come to this areathe most important and famous is Alibag Water fall which on the 5,000 Dinar Iraqi bill
the Jundian spring that has become a very nice place for the tourists to visit after the last renovation.
the Famous and huge Bexal (Bekhal) spring which falls down from the high hill is only few miles away from the city.