Dohuk

Duhok (Kurdish: دهۆك, Dihok, Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Nohadra) is an Iraqi city located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the center of Duhok Governorate. It is bordered on three sides by mountains, which gives the city a picturesque view, and a small river flows into it, the source of which is the Great Duhok Dam. It is considered one of the most beautiful tourist areas in the city, and Duhok Governorate has beautiful picturesque tourist areas. Its population is estimated at about 250,000 people, the majority of whom are Kurdish Muslims, as well as Assyrians/Chaldeans and Yazidis. The city includes Duhok University, which was established in 1992. The name of the city of Duhok comes from the Kurdish Kurmanji dialect, which means two sa's or two measures (Do) (Hok) because the location of the city of Duhok was a caravan route, so a customs officer would take two sa's of wheat or barley or something else. Some attribute this name (Dohuk) to the presence of two large mountains in the city in the shape of two eggs (Do) meaning two (Hawk) or (Hik) meaning egg.

Two small rivers pass through the city of Dohuk, the first is called the Dohuk River and the second is called (Hishka Ro), which is a seasonal river that dries up in the summer.

The city's location has strategic and commercial importance as it is close to Turkey

The origin of the city dates back to the Stone Age, and it became part of the Assyrian Empire, then the Babylonian and Achaemenid Empires before falling into the hands of Alexander the Great and the Romans. It became an important center for Syriac Christianity where it was known as "ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ" Beth Nohdri, before it disappeared after the invasions of Tamerlane.

Its modern history begins in the seventies of the last century to gradually transform into a city and show the characteristics of cities, but when we look at its ancient history, we will see that it was one of the oldest places inhabited by people in the region, as several civilizations passed through it. This is what actually appeared when a delegation from the University of Warsaw in Poland headed by Professor (Kosoloski) conducted excavation and research work in the village of Nimriki located in the Faida district south of the city of Dohuk and east of the Tigris River in 1985, where they reached the conclusion that the history of the region dates back to eight thousand years BC, where there was life in those times on these paths. In addition to the site of the Garstin Cave (the Cave of the Four Columns) located in the Dohuk Valley, which some sources confirm to historians and researchers who visited the region that it is considered one of the oldest caves in which humans lived naturally.

As confirmed by historian Hassan Ahmed, the history of the Garstin Cave dates back to the Middle Ages, and its oldest documents date back to 12,000 years BC. These are some examples of the antiquity of human civilization there, as there is Tell Bastak and Kamoun, which date back to the history of the Kurdish Mitanni state, in addition to Tell Malta and the Halmata Cave in Shendukha located south of the governorate center, which dates back to the time of the Kurdish Medes.

There are still many archaeological caves and monuments carved into the rocks in Dohuk that prove the credibility of these facts that human civilization has existed in this region since ancient times.