Tur Abdin is a hilly region of south east Turkey incorporating the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Sirnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name 'Tur Abdin' is from the Syriac (ܛܘܪ ܥܒܕܝܢ), meaning 'mountain of the servants (of God)'. Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac Orthodox Christians, for whom the region used to be a monastic and cultural heartland. The people of Tur Abdin call themselves Suryoye, 'Syrians' or 'Syriacs', or Turoye, 'mountain-folk', and traditionally speak the Turoyo language.

Today, the population of Tur Abdin is mostly Muslim and divided between Kurmanji-speaking Kurds and Arabic-speaking Mhalmoye. This latter group represents Syriac Orthodox Christians who converted to Islam centuries ago, but still retain some Syriac Christian customs.

The most important Syriac Orthodox centre in Tur Abdin is the monastery of Dayro d'Mor Hananyo, 6 km south east of Mardin , in the west of the region. Built from yellow rock, the monastery is affectionately known as Dayro d'Kurkomo in Syriac, Dayr al-Zafaran in Arabic: the Safron Monastery. Founded in AD 493, the monastery was the residence of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch from 1160 to 1932. Although the patriarch now lives in Damascus the monastery still contains the patriarchal throne and tombs of seven patriarchs and metropolitans. Today the monastery is maintained by two monks and some lay assistants, and is a school for orphans. The abbot of Mor Hananyo is also the patriarchal vicar of Mardin.

In the centre of Tur Abdin, halfway between Midyat and Cizre, is Dayro d'Mor Gabriel. Built in AD 397, Mor Gabriel is the oldest functioning Syriac Orthodox monastery. It is the residence of the Metropolitan Bishop of Tur Abdin, seven nuns, four monks and a host of guests, assistants and students. The monastery is charged with keeping the flame of Syriac Orthodox faith alive in Tur Abdin, for which it is as much a fortress as a church.

The town of Midyat and the villages of Hah, Bequsyone, Dayro da'Slibo, Salah (with the old monastery of Mor Yaqub), `Aynwardo (Ayinvert), Anhel, Kafro, Arkah (Harabale, with Dayro Mor Malke), Beth Sbirino, Middo (Miden) and Azagh were all important Syriac Orthodox places. Hah has the ancient `Idto d'Yoldath-Aloho, the Church of the Mother of God.

During the First World War, many Syriac Christians, perhaps 100,000 (according to Syriac Orthodox records), were killed in the Armenian and Aramean Genocide (called in Syriac Sayfo, simply 'the sword') and died alongside their correligionists. In the last few decades, caught between Kurds and Turks, many Syriac Christians have fled the region or been killed. Today there are only 2,500, a quarter of the Christian population thirty years ago. Most have fled to Syria, Europe (particularly Sweden and Germany), Australia and the USA. However, in the past few years, a few families have begun to return to Tur Abdin.

External links

• Margonitho - Syriac Orthodox Resources (see Churces & Monasteries, History and the Rev Stephen Griffith Reports from Tur Abdin).
• The Diocese of Linz Eastern Christian Initiative and the Friends of Tur Abdin (in German).
• Maps of Tur Abdin.
• Süryaniler.com (in Turkish).