REVITALIZING TUR ABDIN: Syriac Orthodox priest Shamoun Bagandi returns from Germany to his native village of Arbo, plants 350 pistachio trees
ARBO, TUR ABDIN, Turkey — Aiming to revive his homeland of Tur Abdin in Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia), Syriac Orthodox priest Shamoun Bagandi and his family from Germany plan to return to his native village of Arbo (Turkish: Taşköy or ‘Village of Stones’). In a video posted on social media by German-Syriac returnee Morris Dal, who opened a pizzeria nearby last year, Fr. Shamoun said that at his son’s request, they began tilling their land two months ago to establish two groves with a combined 350 pistachio trees
Fr. Shamoun Bagandi stressed in the interview the importance of Tur Abdin, the land of the Syriac ancestors, and the need to return to the homeland and open projects there that contribute to the local economy. He hoped that the Syriacs will return to their homeland and revitalize their villages.
“We want to turn the barren land into a green garden full of plants and flowers,” Fr. Bagandi said. “We also rebuilt our house, and I am very happy that I was able to repay part of my debt to my homeland and native village.”
Arbo is located in the Tur Izlo region of Tur Abdin. Before the mass exodus in the 1970s and 1980s of Syriacs from Tur Abdin, Arbo was one of the larger villages in the Tur Izlo region. There are many ruined buildings, shrines and churches in the village. The main church is the Saint Dimet Church, but there were also the Church of the Mother of God and the Saint Shalito Church.
In recent years, several Syriac families from the diaspora have built new houses and together they spend several months a year in their native village. Fr. Shamoun Bagandi and his family have been doing the same, but are now set to return for good in the future.
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