Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah holds culture fest at theater built in the style of Rome’s Colosseum

(12 Sep 2023) IRAQ FESTIVAL SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS RESTRICTION SUMMARY: LENGTH: 2:59 ASSOCIATED PRESS Sulaymaniyah, Iraq - 8 September 2023 1. Light display at the opening of the culture festival at theater built in 2017 in the style of Rome’s Colosseum 2. Local Kurdish band playing on stage 3. Audience at festival 4. Various of artist singing Kurdish songs, seen on screen and on stage 5. Various of theater 6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Halkawt Chelebi, festival supervisor: “The Roman theatre is a symbolic place like the Columbus Theatre in Italy. The aim of this festival is to bring cultures together in this area at a time when we are seeing political rivalry. Art always brings people together and creates some sort of bridge that connects people.“ 7. Pan of theater 8. Various of people attending the show 9. Various of people taking selfies and videos 10. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Asos al-Jaf, artist from Sulaymaniyah: “The importance of this festival and the Roman theatre for Sulaymaniyah is that it gives a specific character to the city and to this sort of event. That because the place is very suitable for art events, specifically for musical concerts.“ 11. Wide of music concert 12. Various of band performing on stage 13. Pan of stage 14. SOUNDBITE (Kurdish) Asos al-Jaf, artist from Sulaymaniyah: “I can say that apart from these events, many people visit the Roman theater. It became a tourist destination. And when there is an event like the one we have now, the number of tourists who come to the place doubles.“ 15. Various of audience 16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bayar Barzanji, tourist from Irbil: “There are Roman theaters in Rome and many other cities. There are theaters in Jordan, Carthage and Babylon. These theaters are very suitable for this type of art festivals because of the stadium and seating stands. I imagine this might hold more than 5,000 people.“ 17. Various of seats at theater 18. Various of people entering and visiting theater STORYLINE: A culture festival held in the Kurdish region of Iraq was hosted at a theater whose design is inspired by a centuries-old marvel of construction: Rome’s Colosseum in Italy. The art event which ran from Sept. 8-11 was the first culture festival in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah to be held at this Roman-style theater. The theater in Sulaymaniyah was built in 2017, around two millennia after the world-famous tourist attraction that sits in the Italian capital. Kurdish musicians and bands from parts of Iraq, Iran and Syria regaled the audience during shows held throughout the four-day fest. “Art always brings people together and creates some sort of bridge that connects people,“ said Halkawt Chelebi, the supervisor of the festival. The Roman-style theater was built to draw visitors to the city which has long been considered a cultural capital in the Kurdish region of Iraq. “It gives a specific character to the city and to this sort of event,“ said Asos al-Jaf, an artist from Sulaymaniyah. “It became a tourist destination. And when there is an event like the one we have now, the number of tourists who come to the place doubles,“ she added. Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdish region is known for its appreciation of art and is home to frequent festivals and exhibitions throughout the year. AP video shot by Adnan Ahmad =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel 44(0)2074827482 Email: info@. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: