Ancient Eastern Jewish communities in Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, parts of NW Iran, N Iraq, NE Syria and SE Turkey had clothing and culture similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Assyrians. Until immigrating to Israel in the 1940s and early 1950s, Kurdistan Jews lived as closed ethnic communities, largely spoke Aramaic, and Kurdish dialects. Today, the vast majority of Kurdistan's Jews live in Israel. Wikipedia.
Alqōsh is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq located 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Mosul. Alqosh existed in the Bayhidhra mountains for more than 25 centuries. The town is over Nineveh's northern plateau's fertile soil and south across the other Assyrian towns, such as, Telassqopa (Tel Skuf), Baqofah, Sharafiya, Batnaya, and Tel Keppe. Alqosh dates from the ancient Assyrian empire at least. The earliest mentioning of Alqosh appears in Sennacherib's era 750 BC. Alqosh is divided into four quarters: Sainna quarter to the west, Qasha quarter to the east, O'do quarter to the north, and Khatetha quarter to the south. Alqosh is a Chaldean Catholic village and one of the few places where Aramaic is still spoken. History of the Jews in Iraq
Alqosh was a site for the Hebrew peoples when they were brought by the Assyrian army during the 8th and 9th century BCE. For centuries, Christians and Jews lived together in Alqosh until the Jews were expelled in 1948. The Alqosh synagogue is one of the few standing synagogues left in Iraq.
- Jewish history. [Sept 2016]
CEMETERY:
- Jewish tomb [Sept 2016]
