Choli minaret is dated to the Atabag period and was built by ruler of Erbil Muzaffar al-Din Kukburi (1168-1233) brother in law of well known Salahaddin. The minaret signifies an era of growth and stability in the city in the medieval era. A local builder named Massoud Murad built the minaret from low burnt bricks, using gypsum-based renders and mortars. Though parts of the structure have collapsed, the minaret has miraculously survived the centuries.

According to the minaret’s director, Nadir Bakir, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s department of tourism and archaeology renovated it in 2007. And now, Bakir says, the landmark is safe from collapsing due to threats such as rainwater and structural fragility. The minaret was originally 36 meters high but is now only 22 meters at its highest point.

The minaret has two names: Choli and Sultan Muzzafar. It is called Choli minaret because Choli is Kurdish for “uninhabitable.” People did not live there as it was considered too far from the city, so they called it Choli. Its second name was for the person who funded its construction. What is truly fascinating is that this minaret is more than 800 years old.