Sami Abdulrahman Park Explained

Sami Abdulrahman Park (ku|پارکی سامی عەبدولڕەحمان,Parka Samî Ebdulrehman)^{[1] [2]} is a park in Erbil, Kurdistan Region in Iraq.

History

The site was formerly the location of Saddam Hussein's 5th Corps Army military base.^[3] Construction of the park began in 1998,^[4] and it was completed the same year.^[5]

It is named after Sami Abdulrahman, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government who was killed in a suicide bombing on 1 February 2004, aged 71.

Features

The park is 200 hectares (2.0 km²) in size and contains two lakes, a rose garden and the Martyrs Monument as well as a restaurant and market. It includes a monument with the inscription, "Freedom is not free."^[6]

The finish line of the annual Erbil Marathon is in the park.^[7]

Notes and References

1. Web site: پاركى سامى عه‌بدو ئه‌لڕه‌حمان . 25 December 2019 . ku.
2. News: WÊNE / HEWLÊR – Êvariyeke payîzî li Parka Samî Ebdulrehman . Rûdaw . ku.
3. Web site: Martyr Sami Abdul-Rahman Park. Lonely Planet. February 26, 2017.
4. Book: Monk. Daniel Bertrand. Mundy. Jacob. The Post-Conflict Environment: Investigation and Critique. 2014. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, Michigan. 9780472072231. 951903033. 90.
5. Book: Ham. Anthony. Middle East. 2012. Lonely Planet. New York. 9781741796704. 812569059. 235.
6. Book: Dabrowska. Karen. Hann. Geoff. Townsend-Greaves. Tina. Iraq: The ancient sites and Iraqi Kurdistan. 2015. Bradt Travel Guides. Chalfont St Peter, U.K.. 9781841624884. 933518753. 390.
7. News: Hurley. Caitlin. Running a marathon in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. February 26, 2017. The Boston Globe. December 16, 2012.