The gate
A stone arch.
Levi Clancy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Levi Clancy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Enasiqph — CC BY 4.0 · Enasiqph — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Enasiqph — CC BY-SA 4.0
Kirkuk Citadel is a historic site in the centre of Kirkuk and the oldest part of the city. It stands on an ancient mound about 40 metres high on a plateau by the Khasa river, and in 2021 it was added to UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage Sites. For centuries the citadel was a small town of many peoples and faiths, mostly Turkmen, with markets, mosques reaching back to the Abbasid era, many Sufi lodges, and Christian and Jewish places of worship. It is said to hold one of several sites in the Middle East linked to the tomb of the Prophet Daniel. Most of the citadel's buildings were demolished, but some mosques, tombs and houses remain. You enter through an arched stone gate, then walk among old brick and stone walls, small domes and columns left from ruined buildings, with the city spread around you from the top. The place feels more like an open archaeological site than a lived-in quarter. Erbil Citadel is about 87 km away in a straight line. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to this area, and access may not be possible, so check official guidance before making any plans.
A stone arch.
Surviving mosques and tombs.
The city from above.
Central Kirkuk, on the east bank of the Khasa river, Iraq
No, most of it was demolished, leaving scattered buildings.
Read the current travel advice and ask locally before going.