Ankawa | Erbil's Christian District | Iraqi Kurdistan

Exploring Ankawa, Erbil's Christian district . 08/02/23. Iraqi Kurdistan Ankawa (Arabic: عنكاوا, romanized: Ankāwā; Kurdish: عەنکاوە, romanized: Ankawa, Syriac: ܥܲܢܟܵܒ̣ܵܐ) is a suburb of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) northwest of downtown Erbil. The suburb is predominantly populated by Assyrians, most of whom adhere to the Chaldean Catholic Church. History Ankawa originally called Beth Amka, which later morphed to Amku-Bad, Ankava, and finally Ankawa. The name of the town is mentioned in Bar Hebraeus's book entitled "A Brief History of the Countries," where he states: "Mongolian troops attacked the area of Erbil on Sunday July 1285 and reached some villages.....including Ankawa." The shrine of Mary also known as Mariamana was built after the ancient Roman designs. Tell Qasra, or Qasra Knoll, is an ancient archaeological site, a 6 meter high mound that was used as a palace in the center of Ankawa. The hill dates back to the Neo-Assyrian period. The city was formerly known as Arbela which was the capital city of Adiabene and the seat of Ishtar. Ankawa has many archaeological sites, including "The Hill," which was recorded as an archaeological site in Iraq in 1945. It is also home to Cathedral of Saint Joseph (Umra d'Mar Yosip), the seat of the Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Arbil. Ankawa used to be a small village located northwest of Erbil, but has grown into a city in its own right. The city has recently become a principal settlement for Christians in Iraq. One of the main reasons for the town's population rise is due to the ISIS takeover of the Nineveh Plains in 2014 after KRG security forces forcibly disarmed local populations in the Nineveh Plains, asserting a full monopoly of arms and control over security, while pledging to protect all, and then pre-emptively retreated from their posts as ISIS approached, abandoning the local populations and exposing them to genocide, all without informing locals that they were withdrawing at the last minute and without firing a single bullet. This caused a fair amount of those who fled to come to Ankawa and other areas in the Kurdistan Region. The Assyrian Church of the East, which after several decades of being located in the United States, has decided to move their Patriarchal see to Ankawa. Today Within the last decade, Ankawa has developed rapidly educationally and technologically. Today, many tourists visit Ankawa from the capital Baghdad, and from other cities across Iraq. The suburb has been through a long construction period, and there are international schools as well as restaurants available today inside. After the fall of Mosul, many Christians who had been displaced came to Ankawa and have been provided with personal needs by the church and international organizations.