750 – 600 BCE – The prophet’s thunderous and fiery prophecies regarding the fall of the tyrannical Assyrian empire date back to the early 7th century BCE and came true. But in later centuries, other – kinder, gentler – attributes had been added to his portfolio. Believed to grant wishes and perform miracles, he acquired the title “Nahum the Comforter,” and was revered and petitioned by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Eventually a large compound grew around his burial place.
1173 – 1950 AD – The shrine of the Prophet Nahum dates to around 1173 and within there is an ironwork enclosure surrounding his tomb that has been festooned with green ribbons, as pilgrims left these behind to remind the prophet that they had been there and were counting on his assistance. The site became the premier pilgrimage location during the Shavuot festival for Iraq’s Jews, who congregated there during the annual holiday, reenacting the giving of the Ten Commandments and, in colorful pageantry and with much shouting and leaping about, at the foot of the mountain in the evening hours, the battle between Gog and Magog. This was a big yearly festival for everyone in town, and it concluded with a large barbecue and dance in the town square with Jewish pilgrims and local Christians celebrating together. It was also an opportunity for young people from far flung villages to keep an eye open for a potential bride or groom.
The heyday of “modern” Alqosh came to an end with the upheavals of the 1940’s and 50’s. Things started to get tough for minorities. Pilgrims stopped coming, and the shrine began to fall into disrepair. The townspeople put a lock on its wooden doors to keep it safe from vandals and assigned a groundskeeper to sweep up the courtyard and admit the occasional visitor.
1951 – 2000 AD – Unintended consequences played an unfortunate part – when the city repaired the sidewalk adjacent to the shrine, they unknowingly paved over the ancient drainage canal, causing rainwater instead to seep under the shrine’s foundations and loosen them. At some point, someone thought it would be a good idea to fasten an exterior electrical mast to the wall of the shrine, which then ever so gradually pulled it outward. The pillars began to tilt, the arches to crack. Eventually parts of the ceiling collapsed and the exterior wall caved in.
2001 – 2015 AD – Worse was to come: war, insurgency, ISIS… Barely hanging on, the town managed to protect its landmark heritage site while all around them others were being destroyed, but they were in no position to repair it.
Over the years, various groups of visitors including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came by to see this historic site, check over the damage, take measurements and make promises – but nothing ever materialized. By the time we got there, conditions were near-catastrophic. Actually, we thought it was probably too late.
In April 2017, we brought in several experts from Israel who gave us a technical assessment and they said no, it wasn’t hopeless – but it soon would be. They didn’t think the structure would survive another winter.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Falling oil prices had pulled the rug out from what remained of the region’s economy, so no chance of any funding from the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil. ISIS had retreated to Mosul for its last stand, but refugees still couldn’t go back to their former homes which were either destroyed beyond habitation or booby-trapped with landmines or both.
If this shrine was to survive, it was going to be up to us.
June 2017 – We didn’t exactly get a lot of encouragement. “Iraq? Are you crazy?” was the tenor of most responses. It wasn’t easy to raise the money, but we threw fundraisers. One of them we called Cocktails for Culture, featuring a signature drink with cherry juice and arak (see recipe below) and our ARCH accountant in a beard and wig as the Prophet Nahum. The event was a hit and we did raise some money but unfortunately not the amount we were aiming for. We reached out to our friends, petitioned corporate donors, and as time was running out, we asked our board members for help.
The rescue was launched right after Christmas 2017. We partnered with the Czech company
GEMA Art International which specializes in restoring historic and religious sites. They had fallen in love with Alqosh right along with the rest of us and were doing the work at cost. They didn’t get discouraged even when there was yet more political chaos and they had to fly a complicated route via Istanbul and Baghdad. They sent in their super-team of structural engineers, photogrammetry and 3D mapping techies and experienced artisans. They bunked down in the monastery and ate with the local laborers at the community center.
It was a beautiful experience. Local officials, Iraqi academics from various institutions, the Iraqi ambassador in Prague, people from Dohuk and Baghdad and Erbil, and above all, the townspeople of Alqosh, all helped us, and everybody was so happy to see progress at last.
In January 2018, the structure was declared stable thanks to a system of wooden supports for the arches, metal reinforcements for the walls, and bindings to hold the columns in place, along with remediation of structural issues including a new drainage system. This setup stabilized the shrine in preparation for the full restoration soon to take place.
The impact on the townspeople has been amazing. They saw the presence of our team, and the bolstering of their shrine, as evidence that people care about them, believe in them, and are going to stand with them. One family told us they had been thinking of emigrating but were taking the rescue of the shrine as a signal to stay. “Will the pilgrims come back?” a 96-year-old lady asked us hopefully. She was clearly ready to go dance in the town square once more.
Alqosh isn’t just a dot on a map in an inhospitable, blighted area. True, the countryside around it is beautiful, pastoral, and sheep graze on the hillsides. Church bells ring in the silent morning air. A stunning, ancient cliff-side monastery dominates the nearby mountain. But what we love most in this multi-ethnic community is its ongoing resilience, friendship, and solidarity.
So did we do what we set out to do? Yes. We saved the Shrine from falling down completely, we rebuilt it, and polished it up to resemble what it used to look like. Now we are working on what the visitor experience will be. What does the Shrine represent to Alqosh and the community, and how do we, together with the locals, want to present it to future visitors from not only the region but from around the world?
As we look forward to the next step of creating a visitor experience at the shrine, we need your help to fund and support the transition from a restored building to one that is alive, inclusive and welcoming to all visitors and pilgrims.
Funding for the Stand With Nineveh project has come from the U.S. Government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the Government of the Czech Republic, as well as private donors.
Please consider donating today to contribute to our visitor experience at the shrine, which will not only inform visitors about the shrine but will encourage future international tourism to the wonderful town and welcoming community of Alqosh.
