Restoration of the 1600-year-old Mor Kiryakus Monastery comes to an end

The restoration of the 1600-year-old Mor Kiryakus Monastery, an important religious center for Assyrian Christianity in Batman, located in southeastern Türkiye, has come to an end.

Mor Kiryakus Monastery is located at the very edge of the Turabidin region, which is considered sacred by Syriac Christians.

The monastery was built in the 5th century in the village of Ayrancı at the foot of Mount Kıra in Besiri district on an area of 2,500 square meters with 2 floors.

The name of the monastery, which has an important place among the nearly 80 churches and monasteries in the region, comes from St. Kiryakus, the Metropolitan at the time.

In 2017, restoration work took place in three phases. In the first stage of the restoration, the monastery’s entrance gate, the entire south facade, the burial chamber, the east facade of the burial chamber and all the rooms on the second floor were renovated. In the second phase, the perimeter wall was built, the church and the central courtyard were restored to their original state.

In the third stage, tourism reception area, landscaping and landscaping works were carried out.

Batman Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Mehmet İhsan Aslanlı told AA correspondent, “After the restoration works, a new tourism destination will emerge with Perpira Bridge, 8 kilometers away from Batman, and Malabadi Bridge, 30 kilometers away.”

Stating that an alternative road work is also being carried out so that tourists coming from the historical Hasankeyf district can easily reach the monastery, Aslanlı said:

“Both GAP and Mesopotamia travel tours are usually organized between Diyarbakır, Mardin, Midyat and Hasankeyf. From now on, the Mor Kiryakus Monastery should be included in the new destinations to be created by tour operators and the Union of Turkish Travel Agencies, and we believe that it will be. The completion of the restoration of this place is eagerly awaited. This work will hopefully add a new meaning to Batman in the tourism world. As of today, the first stop of all tourists coming to Hasankeyf will be Mor Kiryakus Monastery, the second stop will be Perpira Bridge and the third stop will be Malabadi Bridge.”