Historical mural on Beth Nahrin unveiled in Ankawa, Iraq

ANKAWA, Iraq — On Tuesday, the Directorate of Syriac Heritage and Museum in Ankawa inaugurated a mural that includes multiple historical eras from the history of Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia).

The inauguration event was attended by Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael Sako, Archbishop of the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil Bashar Matti Warda, Syriac-Catholic Archbishop of Hadiyab and Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nathanael Nizar Ajam, Minister of Transport and Communications in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) Ano Jawhar Abdulmaseeh Abdoka, Mayor of Ankawa Rami Nuri, representatives of the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people and political parties and a large number of government officials.

البطريرك مار لويس ساكو يفتتح جدارية تاريخية بمتحف التراث السرياني pic.twitter.com/RlGwETby5m

— mardutha.syriac (@mardutha) August 16, 2022

The mural is part of the project to preserve the cultural heritage of minorities in Iraq, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The mural showed the eras of Assyria (Assur), Babylon and Akkad until the early Christian ages, in addition to the most prominent saints in Beth Nahrin and the atrocities within the Hakkari Massacre and Sayfo Genocide, as well as a map of the most important cities in Beth Nahrin.

The Director of the Syriac Heritage and Museum Bernard Youssef thanked the USAID for its role in accomplishing this work.

We were honored today Aug 16 to have you all in the opening ceremony of the (Historical Mural) as apart of the project of preserving culture heritage of Iraqi Minorities funded by @USAID and @USEmbBaghdad @USConGenErbil at the Syriac Heritage Museum in Ankawa.@mardutha pic.twitter.com/ARt82Ze8CN

— Kaldo R. Oghanna (@KaldoRamzi) August 16, 2022

Patriarch Sako commended this work, stressing the importance of preserving the common heritage and establishing a museum that includes the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian heritage, similar to the Coptic and Armenian Museums.