Ankawa is a predominantly Assyrian suburb of Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. It is located north-north-west of downtown Erbil, Ankawa is also considered to be one of the oldest inhabited Suburbs in the world.
History
Ankawa was originally called Beth Amka, which later morphed to Amku-Bad, Ankawa, and finally Ankawa. The name of the town is mentioned in Bar Hebraeus's book entitled "A Brief History of the Countries," where he states: "Mongolian troops attacked the area of Erbil on Sunday July 1285 and reached some villages.....including Ankawa." The shrine of Mary also known as "Mariamana was built after the ancient Roman designs. Ankawa has many archaeological sites, including "The Hill," which was recorded as an archaeological site in Iraq in 1945. It is also home to St Joseph's Cathedral, the seat of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil. Ankawa used to be a small village that is located Northwest of Erbil, But nowadays it's more like a city. The city has recently become a principal settlement for Christians in Iraq. One of the main reasons for the town's rise is due to the ISIS takeover of the Nineveh Plans, because a fair amount of those who fled came to Ankawa. The Assyrian Church of the East, which after several decades of being located in the United States, has decided to move their Patriarchal see to Ankawa.
It was 1992 during spring time when a group of young/older athletes with the help of sport experts, started the action of constructing a sports club in Ankawa. Many meetings occurred until 11/06/1992 when the first sport's gathering was at one of the churches in Ankawa which was Mar Gorges.
Today
Within the last 10 years Ankawa has developed rapidly educationally and technologically. Now, many tourists visit Ankawa from Baghdad, mostly from the southern cities. The suburb has been through a long construction period, there are international schools as well as restaurants available today inside. After the fall of Mosul, many Christians who had been displaced came to Ankawa and have been provided with personal needs by the church and international organizations.
