English Village () is a British-built luxury housing compound located in western

Erbil Erbil (, ; , ), also called Hawler (, ), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is the capital of the Erbil Governorate. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the 5th millennium BC. At the h ...

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. The compound contains identical villas, the vast majority of which are used as offices for companies. English Village is among several modern compounds in Erbil named after

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also constitute the West. ...

, such as American Village, Italian Village and German Village. It represents an economic boom that occurred in Erbil at the turn of the 2010s.

History

The compound was originally conceived by Rezgar Ghafor, a British-Iraqi entrepreneur and NGO worker, with the goal of providing affordable housing for the people of Erbil. In his vision, the project aimed to meet the growing demand for quality living spaces while keeping them accessible. To make this idea a reality, Rezgar Ghafor brought together a consortium known as the Hawler Housing Project. This consortium included the British property development company J.M. Jones & Sons, a local construction business, and a representative from the local government. The project was supported by a 2004 initiative from the UK Foreign Office’s Trade and Industry Department, which helped facilitate the collaboration. Construction and sales began in early 2006, with the total development cost reaching US$76,000,000 In July 2019, an illicit gambling scheme operating out of a casino in English Village was shut down by the Kurdish security forces.

Characteristics

English Village contains 420 villas, covering a total of . Each villa has of floor space on two floors and contains five bedrooms, full air conditioning, fitted kitchens and two bathrooms with combined

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

and Western toilets. The villas are reported to have a reliable electricity supply and sanitation system, in contrast to other areas of Erbil and Iraq. The compound also contains a school and five-storey shopping centre. In 2006, the purchase cost of each villa was , while in 2008 it was , and in 2011 it was . In 2011, the rent cost was around per month.

Demographics

The complex is populated mostly by upper-class locals, foreign businesspeople and aid workers. The vast majority of villas in the complex are used as offices for companies.

In the media

In 2019, ''

GQ Australia ''GQ Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle publication and the Australian version of men's magazine ''GQ''. Published by NewsLifeMedia, a division of News Corp Australia, the print and digital men's title offers advice, news and features acros ...

'' featured English Village in a photography series on the urban development of Erbil.

References

{{Reflist Erbil Populated places in Erbil Governorate Kurdish settlements in Erbil Governorate Iraq–United Kingdom relations United Kingdom in the Iraq War Populated places established in 2004