One of the oldest medieval frescoes in Iraq restored by Franco-Iraqi team

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A 12th-century fresco in the Syriac Orthodox Church Mar Guorguis, Qaraqos is the last remaining medieval Christian painting in Iraq. Endangered due to conflict & neglect, it has now been restored by a Franco-Iraqi team set up by Mesopotamia & funded by ALIPH. 

Qaraqosh, in its original Syriac name Baghdede (Baghdeda), probably turned to Christianity in the 7th century – some even appeal for late 4th century – and became a major centre for the Syriac-Orthodoc Church before embracing Roman Catholicism in the 18th century.

It is this Orthodox saga that ran over centuries that Mar Gorgis church in Baghdede still represents today.

The Syriac-Orthodox Mar Gorgis church in Baghdede (Qaraqosh) is made of two churches, the ancient and the modern church. The first one is undersized and rupestrian. The second one is massive and surmounted by tiered iron domes. The ancient church could date from the 6th century.

When Jean-Maurice Fiey visited Mar Gorgis church in the last century, it still contained two commemorative plaques: one related the big plague that affected Baghdede in 1773 and killed “almost all the population”, 4 000 people died, among which 52 priests and deacons.  The other plate related the digging of a well in Baghdede in 1739.

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1 hour ago, FfFfFfFF said:

 

 

The centered character has 6 fingers, or 5 fingers plus a thumb on the right hand.

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8 hours ago, Fresco said:

The centered character has 6 fingers, or 5 fingers plus a thumb on the right hand.

The fresco actually depicts the Theophany (Jesus' Baptism). In the center you can see Christ, John the Baptist pouring water and angels nearby. That is a specific hand gesture that signifies God blessing the waters. 

Based on iconography we know that the fresco should also have included a dove, however they didn't add it because as a general rule, no restauration should add elements that the restorer doesn't know 100% how they looked. 

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19 hours ago, FfFfFfFF said:

The fresco actually depicts the Theophany (Jesus' Baptism). In the center you can see Christ, John the Baptist pouring water and angels nearby. That is a specific hand gesture that signifies God blessing the waters. 

http://www.trinityiconographers.org/chironomia-the-language-of-gesture/

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The reason why the church belongs to the Syriac Church despite being in Iraq