Tesqopa in the Frame

Photography by Wilson Sarkis

Captions by Alan Mansour

The statue of the Virgin Mary stands on the hill the village is named for; Tesqopa means “hill of the cross” or “rising hill.”

An aerial shot of Tesqopa. In the early part of the millennium, it received many refugees from Baghdad and Mosul who were caught up in the wake of conflict. Tesqopa was the target of ISIS in 2014 but the Kurdish Peshmerga retook the village shortly after ISIS invaded; Peshmerga forces repelled another invasion by ISIL in 2016.

Tesqopa, sometimes called Tel Skuf, is an ancient village located in the Nineveh Plain of northern Iraq. Targeted first by Mongols and then by ISIS, Tesqopa has remained a village of the Assyrians who proclaim the Christian faith. The original Mar Yago church dates back to the fourth century AD. It was named after an advisor to King Bahram, ruler of Persia. After revealing that he, Yaqo, was a Christian, the king ordered his dismemberment and execution. Yaqo was made a saint for his martyrdom and the church was named in his honor. It has been renovated in recent years.

The remains of a house destroyed by ISIS.

A separator machine separates grain from the husk.

Villagers use the time-honored method of stone milling for grinding grains.

Parishioners of Mar Yaqo pose outside the church for a photo. They were gathering at the church to prepare for Easter celebrations. Iraqi officials have made efforts to secure churches since the violence of a 2010 attack on Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad killed more than 50 worshippers. Christians have suffered repeated attacks by Islamic militants since the 2003 US-led invasion, and hundreds of thousands have left the country.