Excavations of important Syriac-related sites in Turkey

ARAMAIC (SYRIAC) WATCH:

Syriac monastery to be included in Faith Park

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The thousands-of-years-old Syriac Mor Yakup Monastery complex in Mardin’s Nusaybin district is being restored. The historic monastery and a nearby tomb of a 13th-generation grandchild of the Prophet Mohammed will be united and opened to tourism as a Culture and Faith Park Complex. Mardin Gov. Hasan Duruer says the project will emphasize the beauty of living together

The restoration of churches and monasteries in Anatolia has not lost speed over the last few years, and the next relic slated to undergo reconstruction work is the Mor Yakup Monastery complex in the southeastern province of Mardin.

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Common excavation with Syria

The restorations and excavations for the Faith Park project started in 2000. Duruer said during the restoration, 15 statues on calcareous ground, a mosaic panel, chamber ruins and 225 graves were found in the northern limestone grounds of the church as well as the ruins of a school that belongs to the monastery complex.

He said right after the opening of the park, archaeological excavations will begin to unearth the ancient city of Nisibis. “A part of the ancient city is within the borders of Syria and so we intend to pursue the work together with Syria,” he said.

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The church father Ephrem the Syrian, famous especially for his corpus of beautiful Syriac hymns, lived in Nisibis in the fourth century. An excavation of this site would be very important. I hope it happens.