New life in Alqosh's old bazaar
After decades of decline and a multi-year restoration effort, Alqosh’s historic bazaar is preparing to welcome visitors once again.
The project marks the comeback of one of the town’s oldest communal spaces, a marketplace that once linked trade routes between the Nineveh region and Nohadra (Dohuk). Local volunteers, clergy, and community organizations have led the effort to restore the site and revive economic activity in the heart of the town.
For many residents, the reopening carries deep personal significance. Speaking to a local outlet, Alqosh native Hanaa Abdul Zalfa recalled how the market had once been a lively gathering point. “I grew up next to these streets, and this was where everyone came,” she said. “But over the years the town expanded, people moved away, and the market was left to deteriorate. A few years ago it was nearly deserted, and people avoided it because it felt unsafe.”
Restoration work began roughly three years ago with backing from the Shlama Foundation and the Assyrian Aid Society, which helped push the project to completion.
The old bazaar, once filled with carpenters, metalworkers, and small workshops, has now been rebuilt with a new set of vendors in mind. Several units have been fully renovated to host a tailor, a handicrafts shop, a barbershop, and a store offering prayer beads. In the initial phase, eight stalls were completed, followed by around 20 additional spaces across the corridor.
Project coordinator Carmen George Al-Najjar explained that the idea originated within the community itself. “A group of young people in Alqosh, together with the late Bishop Paulus Thabet Habib and Father Rudi, decided to restore the market and start a monthly charity bazaar to highlight local culture and traditions,” he said.
Today the marketplace includes 32 commercial units, a café, and a small library run by the church. Future plans envision women’s salons, an art studio, and additional small enterprises opening as part of the revitalization effort.
Located on elevated ground in the northern Nineveh Plain in Iraq's Assyrian region, Alqosh has long been seen as a natural place of refuge, and the revival of its old market signals a renewed commitment to preserving its cultural and historical identity.
