Midyat & Tur Abdin Guide: Stone Houses & Syriac Monasteries

Midyat sits in Mardin Province and is regarded as the historic capital of Tur Abdin, built at roughly 953 metres of elevation. Its old town is known for mansions of local limestone that glow in honey and pale-yellow tones under the sun; narrow lanes, carved façades and churches stand side by side. The town is seen as the heart of Syriac Christianity and today keeps five Syriac Orthodox churches. Telkari silver filigree also defines the area. Where exact details are missing, we honestly say we do not know. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Tur Abdin means 'Mountain of the Servants [of God]' in Syriac and is a low plateau spreading across Mardin and Şırnak provinces down to the Syrian border. For centuries it was the monastic heartland of the Syriac Orthodox Church; the oldest surviving Christian buildings date to the 6th century, and historically around seventy monastery structures rose here. Villages, vineyards and stone churches shape the landscape. Where exact details are missing, we honestly say we do not know. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Mor Gabriel Monastery was founded in 397 by the ascetics Mor Shmu'el and Mor Shem'un and ranks among the oldest working Syriac Orthodox monasteries in the world. It houses the seat of the Metropolitan of Tur Abdin, where a small community of monks and nuns keeps monastic life going. With mosaic floors, a domed church and thick stone walls, it is both a place of prayer and learning. Since opening hours and services can change, where details are missing, we honestly say we do not know. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Just outside Mardin rises Deyrulzafaran, the Mor Hananyo Monastery, founded in 493. Its name comes from the saffron-yellow tone of its stone; locally it is called the Saffron Monastery. From 1166 to 1932 it served as the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate and holds the tombs of many patriarchs and metropolitans. Domed churches, the patriarchal throne and a very old stone chamber beneath draw visitors. As for the exact age of the lowest layers, where details are missing, we honestly say we do not know. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)

Dara was built in 505 by the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I as a frontier fortress against the Sassanid Persians; it lies near Nusaybin in today's village of Oğuz. Rock-cut water cisterns, a sprawling necropolis, arched structures and a dam built to hold back floods show the engineering of the age. Under Emperor Justinian the walls were strengthened. Today visitors wander among quarries and tomb chambers. As for still-unexcavated areas, where details are missing, we honestly say we do not know. (Source: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage)