CULTURE

ŞIRNAK, Turkey – In the empty Chaldean village of Onbudak ((Işşi) treasure hunters keep targeting the only church of the village. According to Yeni Yaşam Gazetesi the base and wall of the church have now been severely damaged or destroyed by treasure hunters in search of valuables and relics. Onbudak…

Pohlheim-Giessen, Germany – Wreath laying at the Sayfo Martyrs (established in 2019) organized by the European Syriac Union and the Beth Nahrin Women’s Union. The event included speeches by Warde Rhawi (ESU Germany) and poems by Sarkis Tadares. Etterbeek, Belgium – Wreath laying at the Sayfo Martyrs (established in 2015)…

By Darren P. Ashby ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiative. For the original publication Here Jewish communities have lived in Iraq and Syria for 2,600 years. During a time when cultural heritage reflecting the ethnic and religious diversity of the Middle East is under attack, the documentation and preservation of Jewish sites…

@Bianet (8 June 2020) – The main purpose of the project is safeguarding the intangible values through the documentation and dissemination of the information on the cultural practices of the Syriac community in the Mardin region and assessing the related risks within this context. The website of the project named “Documentation and…

ANKAWA, Iraq – On the sixth anniversary of the death of politician, writer, and novelist Saadi Al-Maleh, the Syriac Heritage Museum in Ankawa, Erbil, honored the late thinker with the inclusion of his picture and biography in the museum exhibition dedicated to writers and thinkers of our Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people. The…

GOZARTO (Al-JAZEERA) REGION, Syria -The Syriac Women’s Union (SWU) in al-Hasakah handed out certificates to female graduates of its latest International Computer Driving Licence course at the Beth Nahrin Academy for Young Women in the city. The driving course aims to firstly increase the trainees’ mobility and secondly their computer…

BRUSSELS – Annually, on the 15th of June, Syriacs commemorate the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Sayfo Genocide of 1915.  A terrible fate the martyred Syriacs share with the 1.5 million Armenians, whose fates are commemorated annually on the 24th of April, and the more than 300,000 Pontic…

SAIDNAYA/DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS) — The Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate issued a statement regarding accusations of impropriety in the Diocese of Switzerland and Austria. The patriarchal statement addressed what has so far been discussed and circulated on social media regarding the waste of church funds and the abuse of honesty in the Diocese…

KFARBURAN/MARDIN, Turkey – The recent discovery of an estimated 40 human skulls and bones in and around a cave near Kfarburan (Kerboran), Dargeçit district of Turkey’s southeastern Mardin province, have raised questions as to their origins and dating. The authorities of Mardin province have sealed off the area and are…

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA – Christians in across Gozarto (Jazira) Region celebrated the end of Virgin Mary Month, after a month of daily prayers, hymns, and candles. Celebrations were held on Sunday in churches throughout Gozarto. Prayers and hymns were delivered in the presence of worshipers. The closing of the…