TUR ABDIN

MEDYAD (MIDYAT), Tur Abdin — As in previous years, the winners of the 21st annual Suroyo TV celebration, which took place on June 28 at St. Ephrem Church Hall in the Austrian capital, Vienna, are being reached and presented with their prizes through dedicated efforts. On the 20th and 22nd…

MEDYAD, Tur Abdin — Will Syriacdom revive in Tur Abdin? That is a question that Semir Sumer asked himself. He decided to make an economic contribution and opened the Assyria Hotel in the center of the Old City of Medyad (Midyat). The construction of the hotel lasted 2 years, Semir…

This article was originally published by Agos Gazetesi on 14 July 2025. The original can be found here. A special report by Marta Sömek for Agos Gazetesi — According to data, in the 1913-1914 academic year, there were a total of 2,580 schools belonging to Christian communities in the Ottoman provinces and districts. Of…

MEDYAD (MIDYAT), Tur Abdin — This Monday was a historic day in the decades-long struggle for recognition, democracy, and equality before the law of the different peoples in Turkey. Thirty fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) laid down their weapons by putting them in a fire during an official…

ANKARA — The 13th-century Armenian Surp Minas Church (Սուրբ Մինաս) in the Zara district of Sivas Province has been the target of repeated diggings and associated destructions by illegal treasure hunters. According to a report published by the Armenian Agos newspaper, published in Turkey, the church’s cemetery was recently damaged…

MEDYAD, TUR ABDIN, Turkey—Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Tur Abdin Mor Timotheos Samuel Aktaş, along with the priest Ishak Ergün, presided over a Divine Liturgy at Mar Sharbel Church in Medyad (Midyat) in Tur Abdin. After the liturgy, a ceremony was held to ordain 40 deacons and deaconesses of various ranks, in accordance with the…

The Syriac University of Nisibis stands as one of the oldest educational institutions in history, a beacon of knowledge that illuminated the path of learning during Late Antiquity. Founded in the city of Nisibis, within the borders of the Roman Empire, in the late fourth century, it became a cultural…

MEDYAD, Turkey — Three sisters from Medyad (Midyat), in the historic region of Tur Abdin in southeastern Turkey, turned their shared dream into reality by opening Izla Café, a Syriac coffee shop celebrating the rich culinary heritage of their ancestors. Mariam, Songul, and Nahrin combined thousands of years of Syriac…

BERLIN — In a quiet digital classroom hosted by the Free University of Berlin, a handful of students of all ages scattered across the world lean into their screens. On keyboards and tablets, they tap out their first sentences in a language that once echoed through the stone alleys of…

MERDE, Turkey — The Syriac Orthodox Saffron Monastery, Dayro d’Zahfaran in Syriac, one of the most ancient monastic sites in the world, has been made an honorary member of the Iter Vitis Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. This recognition celebrates the monastery’s profound cultural, religious, and agricultural contributions…