Zakho

About Zakho

Zakho, also spelled Zaxo (Kurdish: زاخۆ, romanized: Zaxo or Zaco, Syriac: ܙܵܟ݂ܘܿ, romanized: Zāḵō, Armenian: Զախո, Arabic: زاخو, Lishanid Noshan: זאכו, romanized: Zāxo) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, at the centre of the Zakho District of the Dohuk Governorate, located a few kilometers from the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing. Zakho is known for its celebrations of Newroz.

The population of the town rose from about 30,000 in 1950 to 350,000 in 1992 due to Kurds fleeing from other areas of the country.

The original settlement may have been on a small island in the Little Khabur river, which flows west through the modern city to form the border between Iraq and Turkey, continuing into the Tigris. Other important rivers in the area are the Zeriza and the Seerkotik.

Gertrude Bell, the renowned British archaeologist and Arabist who advised British governors in the region in the closing years of the British Mandate, was convinced that Zakho was the same place as the ancient town of Hasaniyeh. She also reported that one of the first Christian missionaries to the region, the Dominican friar Poldo Soldini, was buried there in 1779. His grave was still a pilgrimage destination...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.