Midyat is a district of Mardin on the Tur Abdin plateau; its name is thought to derive from the Assyrian word "Matiate," meaning "City of Caves" — it appears under this name in 9th-century BCE Assyrian inscriptions. Tur Abdin (Syriac for "Mountain of the Servants") has been known for centuries as the heart of Syriac Christian culture.
Midyat carries a multicultural fabric in which Syriacs, Turks, Arabs, and a local community known as the "Mahalmi" live side by side. The Mor Gabriel Monastery, founded in 397, is one of the oldest still-active Syriac Orthodox monasteries in the world.
Highlights
Telkari silver craftsmanship
A centuries-old craft in which hair-thin silver wires are bent and joined by hand without soldering; its history reaches back to around 3000 BCE.
Mor Gabriel Monastery
Founded in 397, a monastery complex of numerous churches and chapels where worship and teaching still continue.
Stone mansions
The streets of old Midyat, with their arched passages and carved stone ornamentation, evoke a medieval town.
Syriac (Turoyo)
A living branch of Aramaic, the language of Jesus, still spoken in the region.
Living Today
Who lives on this land today — what they cook, what they tell.
Telkari: Gümüşten Dantel
Telkari ustası saç telinden ince gümüşü büker, örer, lehimler. Bir bileziğin bitmesi günler alır; bu sabır kuşaktan kuşağa aktarılır.
Manastırda Süregelen Dua
Mor Gabriel'de dua hâlâ Süryanice — İsa'nın konuştuğu Aramice'nin akrabası olan dille — okunur. Bu ses on altı yüzyıldır kesilmedi.
Mırra ve Misafir
Estel'de kahve acıdır ve fincan küçüktür. Mırra ayakta içilir, fincan geri verilir — ikram değil, karşılıklı bir selamlaşmadır.