On May 14th, I had a long chat on the phone with Stafford Clarry, the Humanitarian Advisor for the KRG. I spent the entire time listening to him telling me about all these places I could go to in Northern Iraq, places very few people knew about. But he'd been here since 1991, when he worked with the UN in their resettlement project. He knew the lay of the land better than anyone, even the locals. After the conversation, he sent me the following email:
Angie,
Mar Matti (St. Matthew) Syrian Orthodox Monastery
On Maqlub Mountain, below are some photos
On the Erbil-Mosul road, turn right to Bartilla and head toward Bardarash
Much before Bardarash, turn left where there is a checkpoint, on the south side of Maqlub mountain.
Drive all the way up to the monastery and go inside. There are WC facilities here.
Ask for Monk Yusuf (Joseph) who speaks good English. Mention my name.
Don't miss the church upstairs towards the back, and the crypt with the chain and collar attached to the floor in one of the corners. The chain and collar are for making wishes.
Afterwards, drive out to the main road, turn left and head toward Bardarash, Rovia, to Jerwana, Shekhan, Khanis, Lalish.
Gaugamela battlefield (where Alexander the Great defeated the Persian King Darius, 321 BC)
Beyond Chhra, a big village, look left, that's the battlefield
Also known as the Battle of Arbella (Erbil) because it was the closest known town at the time.
After Chhra there is a restaurant on the right for food and clean enough facilities including separate WC for women.
Sennacherib's aqueduct at Jerwana, 700 BC
Here's the link to the 140-page report with photos:
http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/oip/oip24.html
It's just 2 minutes off the main road to the right. You can't see it from the main road because it's flat.
The turnoff is before the junction where you turn to Shekhan, a well-known district town.
Before going up a hill on the main road there is a bright colored building on the left. The road to the right is sort of opposite this bright building. It's a dirt road, but you go only a short distance. The aqueduct carried water across a shallow valley. The cuneiform writing is on the side at the bottom.
Khanis - Assyrian rock carvings and statues
This is where Sennacherib's canal to Nineveh begins. It ran 37 kilometers.
Go through Shekhan (Ain Sifni) town and after 15 minutes or so there is good paved road to the right.
Take the road for about 15 minutes, look at the huge statue fallen into the waters edge and the sculptures on the wall above.
Return to the Shekhan road and turn right. Ahead on the left is the road to Lalish.
Lalish
You can go inside the main temple. Take off your shoes. Do not step on thresholds; step over them.
Go down to the crypt of Sheikh Adi and don't miss the room with the clay jars of vegetable oil for the oil lamps.
Wander around outside to the other temples.
WC facilities are available where you might be invited to tea.
Enjoy yourselves.
Best,
Stafford
It was the prelude to a big scavenger hunt around Northern Iraq that we have yet to finish. Two days later, T, J, ND and I hitched a ride to the Masif garage to catch a cab that would take us all the way to Lalish. We bargained hard for a decent price and paid for it all day long with a Bitter Betty, a peevish, grouchy, pervy driver who smoked like a chimney.
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