SEASON 3 MOR MATTAI & LALISH (part 2)

My adventures in Iraqi Kurdistan continue in this episode but this time my guide and I are venturing out to the Mar Mattai Monastery which belongs to the Syriac Orthodox denomination. This monastery is still standing despite ISIS trying to attack it. The local Nineveh Plains Units and Peshmerga defended it during the worst of times. Thank goodness that ISIS is no longer active but one can never be too careful. This house of worship is still being used by the Assyrian community, who are indigenous Christians to this land. 

Our next stop was Lalish, the holiest site for the Yazidi religion. This minority religion has been heavily persecuted and suffered greatly during the reign of ISIS. As of 2023, there are still 3,000 Yazidi women being held as sexual slaves by human traffickers. Many Yazidis come to Lalish to pray and baptize their children. 

Please follow my guide, Sardar on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kurdistan.and.iraq.tours/

Learn more about the Assyrian genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayfo

Learn more about the Yazidi genocide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_of_Yazidis_by_the_Islamic_State