IRAQ: U.S. Consul General in Erbil visits Syriac Museum in Ankawa

ANKAWA, Iraq — On Monday, the U.S. Consul General in Erbil Robert Palladino visited the Syriac Heritage and Museum Directorate of the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts in Ankawa, Iraq.

He was received by the Director General Kaldo Ramzy Oganna, Director of the Syriac Heritage and Museum Bernard Youssef, Syriac Library official Fayhaa Shamoun, and official in charge of media and relations at the General Directorate Georgina Habbaba, along with a number of employees.

During the meeting, a brief explanation was given about the Syriac Heritage Museum in Ankawa and its stages of development. The project to preserve the cultural heritage of minorities in Iraq, which is implemented in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Antiquities Coalition, was touched on.

They also discussed the activities of the General Directorate, such as the Syriac Heritage Festival, the Open Book Fair, and the Children’s Day celebration, as well as other activities which were among its priorities.

Consul General Palladino toured the museum, reviewing its heritage assets, the photographs and biographies of the pioneers of cultural, intellectual, artistic, and national renaissance of the Chaldean–Syriac–Assyrian people. He also visited the corner of the historical visit of Pope Francis to Iraq.

The Consul also visited the Syriac Culture Library and viewed its references about the Syriac affairs, including ancient books and manuscripts.

Director of the Syriac Museum presented Consul General Palladino with a piece of handicrafts bearing an inscription of the Lamassu, a celestial being from ancient Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamian) religion with the body of a bull and the head of a man which frequently in art from ancient Beth Nahrin.