Sharafiya

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Sharafiya is an Assyrian village located in Iraq's Assyrian region. The village is located about 40 Kilometers North of the city of Mosul, and is on the main road that connects Mosul to the largest Assyrian town, Alqosh (Sharafiya is only 5 Kilometers South of Alqosh.) The village is considered to be one of the poorest villages of the area.

The village rests on a plateau that is penetrated by small valleys, and is known for its seasonal crop growing such as wheat, grains and vegetables. The region also is fertile for growing cattle, sheep, goats and domesticated birds (chicken and turkey). The widespread profession of the region’s population is agriculture and growing up domesticated animals, which forms a reasonable source of income.

The population of the Sharafiya are all Assyrians. They migrated from their original inhabitancy of Hakkari, southern Turkey, during World War I. They dwelled in the village since early twenties of the 20th century and are followers of the Assyrian Church of the East. There are few families who belond to the Chaldean Catholic Church. There are two Churches in the village: A Catholic Church and a Orthodox Church named Mar Gewarges (St. George.)

Sharafiya and its surrounding lands are owned by the Church of Alqosh which is known as convent of the Lady (St. Mary Monastery) in Alqosh. The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein visited the village in the mid 1980s and was astonished of the cleanness of its residents and their adherence to their village. Upon his learning that they were unable to build new houses because the land was in the possession of the convent of the Lady in Alqosh, he ordered that each family to own a piece of land and assist them in building new houses. The fertile lands that were used for cultivation were, however, kept in the possession of the Church.

There is an old elementary school in the village attended by 62 students of both genders. The school is made of mud and wood, and has only 2 room-classes. This has forced officials of the school to put 1st and 2nd graders in one room, and 3rd and 4th graders in another. The high school students who are numbered some 50 boys and girls attend school in Alqosh. There are 17 college students who attend the faculties of Mosul University. As of 2006, there is a total of 90 families living in Sharafiya totaling 450.

There are other Christian Assyrian and Yizidis villages to the east and south of Sharafiya; Tel Skuf which is a Christian village, is 9 Kilometers south of Sharafiya. Among nearby Yisidis villages are Beban, Shekhka, Hatara and Badriya.