Alqosh

Alqosh is an ethnically Assyrian town in the contested Nineveh Province of Iraq, but controlled by Iraqi Kurdistan.

Be aware that the road leading to Alqosh is littered with military checkpoints. For more info on how to deal with these checkpoints, see War zone safety. There is one route via a village called Sharya on which there will be less checkpoints and you will venture less deep into contested territory. However, if you get a taxi from Duhok, they will most likely take the road to Mossul and turn left into Zakho Road in the village of Badria. The taxi driver will know if this route is safe enough to travel on (it was in September 2022).

A return trip with a taxi from Duhok to Alqosh (plan some time for the town itself and its churches) as well as Rabban Hormzid might be as cheap as 40,000 dinars, but is likely to be more.

On the way back, you can get off in Qasara and hike up Zakho mountain to find the Halamata Cave with the Assyrian Reliefs.

View of Rabban Hormizd Monastery.

• 🌍 Rabban Hormizd Monastery (دير الربان هرمزد). The most important monastery for the Chaldean Catholic Church, founded in 640 AD. Although not much can be seen in the caves behind the buildings, its well worth the trip - if only for the view into the valley. Try to come either before or after lunch time, since the soldier guarding it might be taking a break and therefore close the place. free. (updated Sep 2022)
• 🌍 St. George's Chaldean Catholic Church (Mar Gorgis). The town's main Chaldean Catholic church, built in 1906. Like many churches in the area, it seems to be open rather in the afternoons. free. (updated Sep 2022)
• 🌍 Tomb of the Prophet Nahum. unclear. One of several sites where the prophet Nahum, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, is supposed to be buried. For centuries, the tomb had been a regional pilgrimage destination until the Kurdish-Jewish community emigrated en masse to Israel in 1951. (updated Sep 2022)

See the warning on the Iraq article.