Pope Francis has begun his first ever papal visit to the Middle Eastern country. He said he wanted to make the "emblematic trip" because Iraq had suffered so much for so long
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Pope Francis arrived in Baghdad on Friday for a historic visit amid concerns over security and the spread of the coronavirus.
"This is an emblematic trip and it is a duty towards a land that has been martyred for so many years," Francis told reporters.
"I am happy to be making trips again."
Pope Francis' visit to Iraq's biblical sites
Abraham was born in Iraq and this is where the whale swallowed Jonah, according to the Bible. Pope Francis' is traveling to an area steeped in biblical history.
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Banished from paradise
In biblical times, paradise was where Adam and Eve lived, supposedly the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers — until God banished them from the Garden of Eden because they nibbled on the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. There are still lush oases on the banks of the river, but people's lives there today are anything but paradisiacal.
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River baptism
John the Baptist baptized people, including Jesus of Nazareth, in the waters of the Jordan River, symbolically cleansing them of their sins. For the Mandaeans in Iraq, one of the oldest religious communities in the world, he was the last prophet on earth. To this day, they believe in the power of water and regularly purify themselves in the Tigris — just like their prophet once did.
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Abraham's home
Villages that would later become powerful empires were founded in Mesopotamia about 5,500 years ago. Today, most of this historical region lies on Iraqi territory, between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. In ancient times the land was very fertile, today it is barren and sandy. Abraham once lived here, in the city of Ur.
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Holy Land
Ur dates back to 4,000 BCE. It is one of the oldest cities whose ruins have ever been discovered by archaeologists, and thought to be the cradle of civilization. According to the Bible, it is where God ordered Ur-native Abraham to leave for the Promised Land, Canaan. On his Iraq trip, Pope Francis is expected for a visit.
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Important figure in three world religions
Abraham is a key figure in the Old Testament. God repeatedly tested him, and demanded the ultimate proof of his faith: the sacrifice of his son. Abraham went ahead with the preparations but was stopped by God just in time. God also told Abraham his descendents must be circumcised, a practice that Jews and Muslims still follow today.
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Destroyed pilgrimage site
Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, also stood on the Tigris River. The ruins of the ancient city can be found in Mosul. "Islamic State" (IS) militants in 2014 destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah, an ancient church that repurposed by Muslims where he was allegedly buried.
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Jonah and the whale
The pope is also scheduled to visit Mosul because Jonah's tomb was a revered pilgrimage site for Muslims and Christians alike. The prophet was told to announce God's judgement of sinful Nineveh. He boarded a ship to flee, but the vessel capsized in a storm. Jonah survived because a whale swallowed him whole and later spat him out, according to the Bible.
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Tower of Babel
Perhaps this is what the magnificent Ishtar Gate, built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. (605-562 BCE), looked like. Today, there is only this replica of a city gate through which people once streamed into the city of Babylon. But the people of Babylon wanted more than a gate: a tower so high it would reach heaven.
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The fall of Babylon
God prevented the tower by creating so many languages that people could no longer communicate. According to Isaiah 13:19-22, God wanted to annihilate Babylon: "And Babel, the glory of kingdoms, will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations," it says. "Desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there the owls will dwell, and there the wild goats will leap about."
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Another prophet: Ezekiel
Ezekiel, the son of a priest, lived as a captive among other exiles in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar II. He chastised the people for idolatry and prophesied the downfall of cities and nations that turned away from God. Legend has it that the tomb of the prophet Ezekiel is located in the Iraqi village of al-Kifl.
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Holy shrine for Jews and Muslims
Jews have been making pilgrimages to the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel since the 10th century. 200 years later, Muslims also claimed the burial place of "Dhu l-Kifl," a shrine that is strategically located on the traditional route of the Hajj caravans from Iraq and Iran, as a destination for pilgrims.
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Assur: Reign of terror
Assur is the name of a god, a city and the once powerful Assyrian nation — a name that struck fear in the hearts of people in the Ancient Near East. The kings of Assyria, whose empire extended as far as Egypt, ruled with brute force. In the Bible, Assur is used only as a synonym for Assyria; the city itself is not mentioned.
Iraq faced a reign of terror in the 21st century. When "Islamic State" (IS) militants invaded the town of Baghdida, also known as Karakosh, near Mosul, almost all families fled north. About 97% of the population are Christians — people the IS considers infidels that should be killed. About 250,000 Christians live in Iraq today, less than 1% of the population.
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Prayer for Christians
St. Joseph Cathedral in Ankawa near Erbil is the seat of the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, built on historic ground. Traces of the fighting between the army and the Islamic State are visible everywhere, both in Erbil and Mosul. Prayer will be the means by which Pope Francis gives hope to his fellow Christians.
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The pontiff's trip to Iraq is his first outside of Italy since November 2019.
Ahead of the visit, the 84-year-old pope was given a COVID-19 vaccine and Iraq heightened its security measures.
But a second wave of coronavirus infections has hit the country, resulting in some 5,000 new cases per day.
"I'll try to follow directions and not shake hands with everyone, but I don't want to stay too far," Francis said before his arrival.
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What did Francis do on his first day?
Though Francis promised to follow strict coronavirus guidelines, soon after he stepped off the plane, the Pope extended his hand in greeting to the Iraqi dignitaries waiting for him on the tarmac at Baghdad International Airport.
He also stripped off his white mask to smile at children assembled to welcome him.
Following his lead, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi removed his mask too, as did the head of the premier's protocol office.
Shortly afterwards, Pope Francis was gifted an art miniature depicting a stage on the path to Christ's crucifixion.
The bronze plaque was designed by the Muslim artist, Mohammad Ghani Hikmat, one of Iraq's most celebrated sculptors who passed away in 2011.
Work on the replica crafted in the Lebanese capital Beirut was personally overseen by his son Yasser, who kept its existence a secret until it was presented to Francis.
"It's very symbolic of Iraq, because my father was an Arab Muslim sculptor who recounted through his works the passion of Christ," Hikmat told AFP.
"It represents all of Iraq in that there's no difference between any of the sects," he said.
The welcoming gift was presented by President Barham Saleh, who invited Pope Francis to visit Iraq in 2019 — hoping it could help the country "heal" after years of strife.
What pandemic precautions are in place?
Authorities imposed a full lockdown for the entirety of the Pope's visit, leaving the streets empty of the thick crowds who would normally greet Francis.
One person notably absent: the Vatican's ambassador to Iraq, who tested positive for COVID-19 after spending weeks making papal preparations across the country.
Francis himself and the entirety of the press corps travelling with him were vaccinated with the BioNTech-Pfizer jab ahead of the trip.
Iraq has enjoyed some level of security since the defeat of the Islamic State militants in 2017. Yet, violence remains an issue, with frequent rocket attacks by Iran-aligned militias on US bases, and US military action in response.