Mor Gabriel Monastery: Tur Abdin’s Monastery Since 397

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1. What is Mor Gabriel Monastery?
2. How do you get to Mor Gabriel Monastery?
3. When is the best time to visit Mor Gabriel Monastery?
4. What is the history of Mor Gabriel Monastery?
5. What is Mor Gabriel Monastery famous for?
6. What can you see at Mor Gabriel Monastery?
7. Frequently asked questions about Mor Gabriel Monastery
8. What do the official records say about Mor Gabriel Monastery?

What is Mor Gabriel Monastery?

Mor Gabriel, also known as Deyrulumur, is a Syriac Orthodox monastery on the Tur Abdin plateau southeast of Midyat. It was founded in 397 and has been inhabited almost continuously since, which makes it one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world.

It is the seat of the Metropolitan of Tur Abdin and a spiritual centre for Syriac Christians in the region and abroad. A small community of monks and nuns lives here, and boys from Syriac families board and study, including the Syriac language. Visitors come for the 6th-century church and its mosaics, the domed chambers and the quiet of the walled compound among the oaks.

How do you get to Mor Gabriel Monastery?

The monastery is about 23 km southeast of Midyat, off the road towards İdil, and about 85 km east of Mardin. Most visitors come by car, taxi or on a Tur Abdin day tour from Mardin or Midyat.

Without a car, take a minibus from Midyat bound for İdil or Cizre and ask to be let off at the Mor Gabriel junction; from the main road it is about 2 km on foot to the gate. A taxi from Midyat, waiting while you visit, is simpler.

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When is the best time to visit Mor Gabriel Monastery?

Opening hours change through the year, so check them before you visit. Gates close at sunset. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; in summer, a morning visit avoids the heat on the open plateau.

Check before travelling on major feast days such as Easter, when the monastery is busy with its own community.

What is the history of Mor Gabriel Monastery?

The monastery was founded in 397 by Mor Shmuel (Samuel) and his disciple Mor Shem’un (Simon). According to the provincial directorate, living and prayer spaces were built under Emperor Arcadius (395–408), and more buildings were added under Theodosius II (408–450), including churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the Apostles and the Forty Martyrs, and the Theodora Dome. The main church was completed in 512 under Emperor Anastasius I.

It has had several names. It was first named after its founders, then Deyrulumur, from the Syriac Dayro d’Umro (House of the Priests), and Qartmin, after the nearby village now called Yayvantepe. Its current name honours Mor Gabriel, metropolitan of Tur Abdin in 634–668.

The monastery was the seat of metropolitans between 615 and 1049, and again today. It suffered during the invasions of Timur at the end of the 14th century, when monks were killed; their tombs are still shown to visitors. In the 2000s and 2010s it was the subject of long court cases over its land boundaries, part of which the government agreed to return in 2013.

What is Mor Gabriel Monastery famous for?

• Its age. The provincial directorate notes that it is at least 400 years older than any monastery on Mount Athos, about 80 years older than Mar Saba in Palestine and about 150 years older than St Catherine’s in Sinai.
• The 6th-century mosaics in the main church: geometric and plant designs with no human figures, among the few Byzantine mosaics of this date surviving east of Constantinople.
• Continuity. Monks, nuns and students still live here, and the liturgy is in Syriac.

What can you see at Mor Gabriel Monastery?

The main church (Anastasius Church). Completed in 512, with a barrel-vaulted transverse nave, said to be the largest church of this type in the region. Look up at the sanctuary vault for the mosaics.

The Theodora Dome. A tall domed octagon, about 17 m high on eight arches, named after the Byzantine princess Theodora, whom tradition says Mor Shmuel healed. It is thought to have been a baptistery.

The Church of the Forty Martyrs and the burial chambers. An underground church and the tombs of monks, saints and the founders.

Visiting tips. Mor Gabriel is a home and a place of prayer before it is a monument. Cover shoulders and knees, follow the guide, and expect some areas, including the residential quarters, to be closed to visitors. Photography rules vary from room to room, so ask first. Bring water in summer: the plateau is exposed and there is little shade between the car park and the gate. The visit takes about an hour, and if you arrive just before the midday break, you may have to wait until the afternoon session.

The courtyards and gardens. The walled compound has courtyards with carved geometric and floral patterns, and the outer gardens look over the plateau.

Frequently asked questions about Mor Gabriel Monastery

What do the official records say about Mor Gabriel Monastery?

The monastery, 18 kilometres east of the district of Midyat, was built in AD 397. When the Arab-Islamic army entered Mesopotamia in AD 640 in cooperation with the Syriacs, a privilege was granted for the protection of this work in particular, by order of the caliph of the time, Omar.

Another important feature of the monastery, which had a rich library, is that it housed a faculty of theology where thousands of students were educated, and that most Syriac scholars graduated from it. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mardin Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)