What is "alqosh"

Alqōsh (, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ), alternatively spelled Al-qosh or Alqush, is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq. It is located north of Mosul.

Alqosh has adorned the Bayhidhra mountains for more than 25 centuries. The town glowingly reigns over Nineveh's northern plateau known for its fertile soil and extends southward across the other Assyrian towns, such as, Telassqopa ( Tel Skuf), Baqofah, Sharafiya, Batnaya, and Tel Keppe.

Alqosh traces its history back into the ancient Assyrian empire and perhaps even further. The earliest mentioning of Alqosh appears in Sennacherib's era 750 BC as evidenced by the mural inside Sennacherib's palace that was discovered in Tel Kuyunjik/Qüyüjik (Sheep Hill in Turkoman) in Mosul. Behind this mural, the phrase "This rock was brought from Alqosh’s Mountain" is carved.

Alqosh is divided into four quarters: Sainna quarter to the west, Qasha quarter to the east, O’do quarter to the north, and Khatetha quarter to the south.

Alqosh is a Chaldean Catholic village and one of the few places where Aramaic is still spoken.