Syriac Writers Union holds fourth annual Akitu Festival in Baghdede, Iraq

BAGHDEDE, Iraq — In cooperation with the Syriac Culture Office of the General Union of Authors and Writers in Iraq, the Syriac Writers Union held its fourth Akitu Festival in the town of Baghdede (Qaraqosh) in Nineveh Plains.

Official of the Syriac Cultural Office at the General Union of Authors and Writers in Iraq and poet Zuhair Barada declared that the 2021 Akitu Festival was a success and included two lectures on the implications and meaning of the Babylonian–Assyrian New Year (Akitu). The lectures were given by Iraqi academic Amer al-Jumaili and historian Binyamin Haddad. The festival also included a collection of poetry readings by Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian poets in addition to folkloric and heritage activities.