Bookstores in Erbil
If you judge a town by its bookshops, Erbil, Kurdistan Region gives you 27 to judge by. That's 27 bookshops mapped around Erbil, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Staff picks shelves are the fastest way to read a shop's personality.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Erbil (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include كتيبخانةى گشتى پيرمام and پەرتووکفرۆشی ئەمازۆن, plus zagros. If a bookshop's missing from Erbil's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Erbil bookstore lineup
27 mapped within about 40 km:
كتيبخانةى گشتى پيرمام
Bookstore
كتيبخانةى گشتى پيرمام is Bookstore.
پەرتووکفرۆشی ئەمازۆن
Bookstore
پەرتووکفرۆشی ئەمازۆن is Bookstore on 38 شەقامی کەرکووک, هەولێر.
38 شەقامی کەرکووک, هەولێر, 44001
zagros
Bookstore
zagros — Bookstore.
پەڕتووکخانەی مامۆستا
Bookstore
پەڕتووکخانەی مامۆستا is Bookstore.
ھەولێر
پەرتووکخانەی کامبریج
Bookstore
پەرتووکخانەی کامبریج — Bookstore, found on شەقامی کەرکووک in ھەولێر.
شەقامی کەرکووک, ھەولێر, 44001
My home
Bookstore
My home — Bookstore.
پەڕتووکخانەی هەڤاڵ
Bookstore
پەڕتووکخانەی هەڤاڵ — Bookstore, found on شەقامی کوردستان in ھەولێر. Also worth knowing about پەڕتووکخانەی هەڤاڵ: the map lists its hours as Sa-Th 09:00-21:00; Fr 15:00-21:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
شەقامی کوردستان, ھەولێر, 44001
Hours: Sa-Th 09:00-21:00; Fr 15:00-21:00
Phone: +964 750 536 2000
پەرتووکخانەی گشتی هەولێر
Bookstore
پەرتووکخانەی گشتی هەولێر is Bookstore.
ھەولێر, 44001
Mardeen 2 Photocopy
Bookstore
Mardeen 2 Photocopy — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Mardeen 2 Photocopy: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
ھەولێر, 44001
Phone: 9647519171017
پەرتووکخانەی داڤێنشی
Bookstore
پەرتووکخانەی داڤێنشی is Bookstore on شەقامی ڕەمزی نافع, ھەولێر.
شەقامی ڕەمزی نافع, ھەولێر, 44001
پەرتووکفرۆشیی هەڤاڵ
Bookstore
پەرتووکفرۆشیی هەڤاڵ — Bookstore, found on شەقامی برایەتی in أربيل.
شەقامی برایەتی, أربيل, 44001
haval bookstore
Bookstore
haval bookstore — Bookstore.
مكتبة
Bookstore
مكتبة — Bookstore.
مخزن سفوح
Bookstore
مخزن سفوح is Bookstore on 3/419 قرية طاق, ھەولێر.
3/419 قرية طاق, ھەولێر
پەرتووکفرۆشی تەفسیر
Bookstore
پەرتووکفرۆشی تەفسیر — Bookstore, found on شەقامی بارزانی نەمر in ھەولێر. Also worth knowing about پەرتووکفرۆشی تەفسیر: the map lists its hours as 09:00-19:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
شەقامی بارزانی نەمر, ھەولێر, 44001
Hours: 09:00-19:00
Phone: +964 750 818 0865
مكتبة روشان
Bookstore
مكتبة روشان — Bookstore, found on 82728 in ھەولێر. Also worth knowing about مكتبة روشان: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 01:30-06:45; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
82728, ھەولێر, 44001
Hours: Mo-Su 01:30-06:45
Phone: 0750 408 6580
مرکز ثقافە
Bookstore
مرکز ثقافە — Bookstore, found on شەقامی بەحرکە in ھەولێر. Also worth knowing about مرکز ثقافە: the map lists its hours as Su-Th 08:30-13:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
شەقامی بەحرکە, ھەولێر, 00964
Hours: Su-Th 08:30-13:00
Phone: 07504655858
کتێبخانەی گشتی قوشتەپە
Bookstore
کتێبخانەی گشتی قوشتەپە is Bookstore.
هەولێر
پەرتووکخانەی باڵدار
Bookstore
پەرتووکخانەی باڵدار is Bookstore. پەرتووکخانەی باڵدار also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as 10:00-21:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
ھەولێر, 44001
Hours: 10:00-21:00
Phone: +964 751 746 7040
ئینستیتوتی ژیار
Bookstore
ئینستیتوتی ژیار — Bookstore, found on شەقامی جەمال حەیدەری in هەولێر.
شەقامی جەمال حەیدەری, هەولێر
بڵاوکاریی ئێم ئێم
Bookstore
بڵاوکاریی ئێم ئێم — Bookstore, found on شەقامی پیرمام in ھەولێر. Also worth knowing about بڵاوکاریی ئێم ئێم: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 08:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
شەقامی پیرمام, ھەولێر, 44001
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:00-18:00
Phone: +964 750 672 1818
Bookinist store
Bookstore
Bookinist store is Bookstore.
کتێبخانەی هەڤاڵ
Bookstore
کتێبخانەی هەڤاڵ — Bookstore.
دوكانى سلاجه
Bookstore
دوكانى سلاجه is Bookstore.
پەرتووکفرۆشی ئاشتی
Bookstore
پەرتووکفرۆشی ئاشتی — Bookstore.
ھەولێر
پەرتووکخانەی مەم و زین
Bookstore
پەرتووکخانەی مەم و زین — Bookstore.
ھەولێر
College Printing
Bookstore
College Printing — Bookstore.
ھەولێر, 44001
What the map tells us about bookstores in Erbil
6 of the 27 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
4 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
The Erbil bookstore crawl
Plot these on a map and the day plans itself: كتيبخانةى گشتى پيرمام, پەرتووکفرۆشی ئەمازۆن on 38 شەقامی کەرکووک, zagros, پەڕتووکخانەی مامۆستا, پەرتووکخانەی کامبریج on شەقامی کەرکووک, My home, پەڕتووکخانەی هەڤاڵ on شەقامی کوردستان, and پەرتووکخانەی گشتی هەولێر. That's 27 stops on the Erbil bookstore crawl. 19 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Erbil
The regulars' playbook for Erbil's bookshops:
- Poetry lives in bookshops at كتيبخانةى گشتى پيرمام. Poetry barely exists online as a browsing experience. The poetry shelf in a real shop is a different world.
- Browse by serendipity, buy by list at پەرتووکفرۆشی ئەمازۆن. Keep a want-list on your phone for the hunt, but let the shelves surprise you too. The best finds are never the planned ones.
- Learn the remainders table. Publisher overstocks sold cheap. Great for gift buying — new books at used prices.
- Note the shop's specialties. Sci-fi, travel, art books, philosophy — every good shop leans somewhere. Find the lean that matches yours.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Erbil — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Erbil can take a while to appear. If you spot one of the 27 that's closed, or a great bookstore we missed, the fix is to update the map itself — that's where this guide reads from.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 27 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Erbil: 27 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.