JUNE 2022

FEATURE
Back
to Iraq
BY ADHID MIRI, PHD
Part II
In many countries throughout history, thousands
of villages have been deserted for a variety of reasons.
Abandonment of villages is often related to
epidemic, famine, climate change, economic depression,
war, environmental destruction, or in the case
of the Islamic State genocide in 2007 and 2014, deliberate
ethnic cleansing.
On my recent journey to Iraq, I visited Christian
villages like Tel-Keppe (Telkaif), Alqosh, Batnaya,
Telskuf, and Baqoofa. These villages had mostly
been spared from modern development. Riding
around the old part of these towns one can see old
mud and brick homes, which was the style before the
age of concrete. The old homes blend perfectly with
the colors of the surrounding landscape.
These little villages are good places to meet local
people. Visiting the town market, public cafes, and
churches increases the chances of meeting someone
who speaks the Sureth dialect and wants to practice
their English.
If you are looking for a souvenir of your trip, vases
from the small towns are very popular. But these are
not just ordinary vases; prior to refrigeration, these
vases were a kitchen standard, dating back thousands
of years. Vases were found by the Iraqi Directorate
of Antiquities that date back to before 2000 BC.
Tel-Keppe
Tel-Keppe is a compound Aramaic name. It consists
of “Tel,” which means hill and “Keppe,” which
means stones. Thus, the meaning of Tel-Keppe is “the
hill of stones.” According to Fr. Michael Jajjo Bizzi,
there are Assyrian and Akkadian remains that are
still waiting to be uncovered there.
The town has changed and sprawled over recent
years. The old village seems to have been abandoned,
although chickens roam here and there. I wandered
in and out of the abandoned houses and went up on
the roof of one that faces the main church. It had once
belonged to my grandmother’s brother, Namou Arabo.
I looked out over the neighborhood, seeing the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and the main
cemetery, Maqbarat Tel-Keppe, situated nearby the
church and close to the famous Tel-Keppe tahini.
Fields of wheat surround the village on all sides.
Tel-Keppe is an interesting place; you can walk
down the deserted streets of a town that once had a
population of nearly 10,000 people. You can feel a
true atmosphere from the old past.
Today, the demographically changed village is a
Author Dr. Adhid Miri points out the sign welcoming visitors to Alqosh.
shadow of its glorious past. It is featured in numerous
poems and songs that describe the decline of a village
and the emigration of many of its residents to America.
The town of Tel-Keppe has faced Arabization since
the early 60s. Under the Ba’athist rule Arabs began
moving to Tel-Keppe while Chaldeans began moving
to the big cities of Iraq, mainly Baghdad and Basra.
The ISIS offensive in 2014 made things even worse for
the town’s remaining residents. Most of its people fled
to the Kurdistan region or fled Iraq entirely, allowing
more Arabs to settle in the town.
In August 2014, the town was taken over by the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), along with
the nearby towns of Batnaya, Telskuf, Bakhdaida/Qaraqoosh,
Bartella, and Kramlesh. ISIS looted homes
and removed crosses and other religious objects from
the churches. The Christian cemetery in the town was
later destroyed.
ISIS’s occupation of 12 Christian-inhabited towns
between 2014 and 2017 was the peak of this insurgency.
Prior to the invasion, Tel-Keppe was a thriving town, rich
with ancient culture and a population of 5,500. Since
the invasion and eventual fall of ISIS in that region,
only 47 families have returned, finding their homeland
ravaged and their ancient cemetery in pieces.
Life after ISIS has been difficult for the people of
Tel-Keppe and presents tragic challenges for Christianity
in Iraq. The most pressing needs are in the villages
rather than the major cities. Economic development
tops the list. There is zero support from the KRG
or central government.
Saving the cemetery
Maqbarat (Cemetery) Tel-Keppe is an historic landmark.
Knowing the importance of this heritage site,
ISIS destroyed the cemetery, inflicting unthinkable
damage on Iraqi Christians’ cultural heritage.
This destruction of heritage was an integral part
of the ISIS campaign. The centuries-old cemetery of
Tel-Keppe, located on a hill behind the main church,
was erased by bulldozers. Graves and monuments
from the site were damaged during the rampage.
The city’s main church, containing centuries-old
manuscripts, was also ravaged.
For me, the cemetery was a sad sight to see. In their
ruthless campaign ISIS completely demolished the site,
digging up every grave in search of gold, rings, necklaces,
and other jewelry. They found only bones and burial
28 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2022