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The Tur Abdin is a region in Southeastern Anatolia known for its Syriac Orthodox monasteries. It’s situated east of the city of Mardin and surrounding the town of Midyat.
Introduction to the Tur Abdin
The Tur Abdin has historically been populated by Assyrian Christians, mostly Syriac Orthodox. The residents speak a Neo-Aramaic dialect called Turoyo, and the name for the region translates to “Mountain of the Servants of God)” in Syriac.
During World War I, over 300,000 Assyrians were exterminated by Ottoman forces as part of the Assyrian Genocide. Although the local population suffered, the Tur Abdin and the town of Midyat remained the largest concentration of Christians in Turkey outside Istanbul until 1979, when a Syriac mayor of one of the villages was assassinated and replaced with a Kurd against the people’s will. Kurdish locals then started migrating to areas that had been traditionally Assyrian, causing an exodus of Assyrians to Istanbul and abroad.
Before the Assyrian Genocide, there were over 100 villages populated by Syriacs and 70 active monasteries. By 1999, only 10% of the original 50,000 Assyrians in Midyat and the Tur Abdin remained, and the number of villages has dwindled to around 30. Most of the monasteries are now inactive.
On a trip to the region, we were fortunate to visit three monasteries. I’ve written about each below and hope to return to see more of the others.
Getting Around the Tur Abdin
The best way to get around the Tur Abdin region is with your own transportation. If this isn’t possible, you can join a guided tour from Mardin to some of the monasteries.
Mor Hananyo Monastery (Deyrulzafaran)
Mor Hananyo Monastery, or the Monastery of Saint Ananias, is the most important and most easily accessible of the three monasteries we visited. It’s located just a few kilometers southeast of Mardin and is known in Turkish as Deyrulzafaran Monastery (Deyrulzafaran Manastırı), which translates to the Saffron Monastery. The complex is beautifully set in a valley surrounded by high cliffs containing caves and ruins.
Admission to the monastery is 100₺ (as of September 2024) and it’s open daily. Guided tours run in Turkish every so often and guests must dress appropriately. In our case, we paid admission and waited for the guide who never showed up, so we wandered around on our own. At the entrance you’ll find a cafeteria with indoor seating and an outdoor terrace as well as a wine shop.
Origins of Mor Hananyo Monastery
Mor Hananyo was originally a Roman fortress built atop the remains of a 2500 BC temple dedicated to the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash. After the Romans left, Mor Shleymun converted the fortress to a monastery in 493. It was originally named Mor Shleymun Monastery and took its current name in 793.
The remains of the temple are in the basement of the monastery, but the room has never been scientifically researched. It does, however, have a small window through which the first rays of the sun enter each morning. The room is accessible via a stairway in a room just inside the entrance to the inner courtyard.
The room above the temple features an apse and is topped by an octagonal dome. It’s now a mausoleum containing seven graves but was originally used as a medical school.
Mor Hananyo was eventually abandoned by re-founded by John, the Syriac Bishop of Mardin, in the 12th century. He moved the headquarters of the Syriac Orthodox Church there in 1160, and it remained there until 1932 when it moved to Homs, Syria, and eventually to Damascus in 1959. The monastery takes its current look from an 18th century restoration.
Mor Hananyo Church
The Mor Hananyo Church is on the east side of the inner courtyard. It was built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I between 491 and 518 and designed by Syriac architects Theodosius and Theodore. The church covers an area of 271 square meters with a height of 17.7 meters.
The apse was built in 793 by Mor Hananyo but burned down in 1941. It was replaced the following year and made by stone masters from Mardin and Midyat. The throne on the left side was made in the 17th century and is used by the Syriac Patriarch. The one on the right side contains inlaid ivory and was likely made in the 16th century. It’s used by the Metropolitan.
The walls were once decorated with frescoes of biblical scenes and saints, but only one survives today. It depicts Mor Hananyo and measures 270 x 66 centimeters.
Church of the Virgin Mary
The Church of the Virgin Mary is on the northeast corner of the inner courtyard and is older than the Mor Hananyo Church. It covers an area of 153 square meters and is made of Byzantine-style bricks. There are three wooden doors with verses written in Syriac as well as an octagonal baptismal font. The church is still used for baptisms today.
At the back of the church you’ll find the first printing press brought to the region. Patriarch Peter IV purchased the press while on a trip to England in 1874 and it arrived at the monastery in 1876. A monthly magazine called Öz Hikmet as well as books in Syriac, Ottoman, and Turkish were printed there until 1969.
Mor Gabriel Monastery
Mor Gabriel Monastery is located southeast of Midyat. It’s the second oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. Admission to the monastery is 100₺ (as of September 2024) and it’s open daily. Guided tours run in Turkish every so often and guests must dress appropriately. There are five sections you’ll see during a tour.
Mor Gabriel Monastery was founded in 397 by Mor Shmuel and his student Mor Shemun. According to tradition, an angel appeared to Shemun and commanded him to build a church in a location marked with three large stones. When he awoke, he went with Shmuel and found the stones, and later built Mor Gabriel Monastery.
The monastery grew in importance, and between 615 and 1049, it was the Episcopal seat of the Tur Abdin. In 1901, the remains of 440 monks massacred by invading Mongol forces in the 14th century were discovered in caves underneath the complex.
From 1049 until 1915, the monastery had its own diocese. In 1915, during the Assyrian Genocide, local Kurds massacred the monks and occupied the complex until 1919 when it was returned to the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Today, the sole purpose of Mor Gabriel Monastery is to keep Syriac Orthodox Christianity alive in its original territory. Around 15 nuns and 2 monks live at the monastery, which is the seat of the Metropolitan of the Tur Abdin.
Great Church at Mor Gabriel Monastery
On the first part of the tour, the guide leads the group through a beautiful stone gate into a small courtyard. The courtyard opens to the Great Church.
The Great Church is one of five churches that once existed at Mor Gabriel Monastery. It was built by Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I in the late 5th and early 6th century. It’s one of the world’s finest examples of early Christian architecture.
The apse of the church is adorned with rare mosaics in the vault and on the floor, highlighting its importance as a religious center. The type of mosaic in the vault is rarely seen outside cathedrals in imperial capitals. Also pay special attention to the booking technique on the marble wall panels, which was also used at Hagia Sophia.
Dome of Theodora
Next, we visited the Dome of Theodora. It was built by Byzantine Empress Theodora in the 6th century. The dome rests on eight arches and is lit by a skylight at the top.
Directly underneath the dome is a monolithic stone slab carved from a single piece of marble. It dates to 777 and is called the Big Stone. There’s also a model of the monastery and a donation box both made of matchsticks by a Syriac Christian from Mardin.
Old Kitchen
Attached to the Dome of Theodora is the Old Kitchen. It’s a rectangular room with a low vault built around the same time as the dome. It was used as a kitchen until the first half of the 20th century.
Church of the Virgin Mary
After passing through a long corridor, we came to the Church of the Virgin Mary. It’s entered through a small door next to two larger doors with intricately carved stone frames.
The Church of the Virgin Mary is the oldest church at the complex. It was built in the early 5th century and features a three-vaulted nave.
House of Saints
The tour continued to the House of Saints, which is a mausoleum built in the early 5th century. It consists of two underground vaults and contains the burials of the founders of the monastery, Mor Shmuel and Mor Shemun, as well as Mor Gabriel. Other saints, patriarchs, metropolitans, and abbots are buried there as well. Many Syriac Christians visit the House of Saints to pray and find healing.
Terrace of the Mor Gabriel Monastery
The final part of the tour took us to the terrace, where we were able to get a 360° view of the entire monastery. It’s easy to tell which buildings were built during the early years of the monastery and which were added later.
Monastery of the Virgin Mary
The best experience we had by far was visiting the Monastery of the Virgin Mary (Meryem Ana Manastırı), or Yoldat Āloho, in the village of Anıtlı (formerly Ḥāḥ). The village is populated by fewer than 150 Syriac Christians and is located about a half hour east of Midyat. The monastery serves as their main religious center as well as a community and educational center. Admission is free but donations are always welcome (as of September 2024).
According to local tradition, there were actually 12 kings from the East who set out to greet the newborn Jesus. As they made their way to Bethlehem, they passed through Ḥāḥ and decided that only three should continue. After presenting their gifts, the Virgin Mary gave them a piece of Jesus’ swaddling wrap. The three kings returned to Ḥāḥ and the wrap miraculously turned to gold.
We were greeted by the friendly caretaker who led us into the courtyard. He explained that the monastery dates back to the middle of the 5th century and it was expanded by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. The design and style is perhaps the most beautiful of all the monasteries in the Tur Abdin.
Church
The church itself is said to have been built in the 8th century and its architectural design was ahead of its time. It contains many local features combined with Georgian and Armenian features. The entrance to the church is through a narthex.
Tthe nave is topped by an octagonal dome supported by four semi domes. The apse contains intricate carvings and seven ornately decorated niches. Each niche is supported by pillars and topped by a scalloped shell.
Terrace
After visiting the church, the caretaker led us to a stairway up to the rooftop terrace. From there, we were able to see the stunning dome and bell tower from up close.
The dome is surrounded by a square structure with two levels of niches. The lower level of niches is original and more ornate, while the upper level was added during a restoration in 1939.
