A visit to Tur Abdin, November 2017
The Reverend Stephen Griffith MBE
The Metropolitan of Tur Abdin in his Monastery, Deir Mor Gabriel, with the author
Introduction
This visit had the purpose of introducing the Revd James
Buxton, the newly arrived Anglican Chaplain in Izmir, to key people in Tur
Abdin. It was also the twentieth anniversary of my first visit to the area[i]
in November 1997 when I was Anglican Chaplain in Damascus[ii].
In my report back then, I explained then how the population
of the area of Mardin and Tur Abdin had declined over two decades from about
20,000 to under 2,000. There was the ongoing civil war between the Turkish
state and the Kurdish separatist fighters of the PKK, but also Turkish government
policy was designed to make life difficult for the Christian minority in the
area.
I reported:
Recently
the Governor of Mardin Province, in which the Syrian Orthodox villages lie, has
written forbidding
·
any education
·
the receiving of any visitors
·
building works, whether renovation or new projects.
Over the years different governments had changed this and
there had been significant improvements at times, especially in the first years
of the new millennium. International pressure as well as a hopeful internal
settlement between Kurds and government had brought peace and relative
prosperity to the region. However, recent problems concerning the ownership of
property in two different cases had caused serious disquiet, and while the
first case[iii]
in 2009 has been partly dealt with, the recent case is ongoing.[iv]
Security
The deteriorating security situation results from the
resurgence of the PKK, the Kurdish Leftist Military organisation in Turkey,
which has been in renewed conflict with the Turkish state following changes in
government policy away from a more inclusive attitude to Kurdish aspirations. A
decade ago the Turkish government was treating minorities with increasing
warmth. A change in this approach led in 2016 to significant conflict in south
east Turkey, with battles within cities, rather than the former style of fighting
between the government forces and the PKK in the countryside. The city of Cizre[v]
saw significant destruction in 2016, as did Nuseybin[vi],
Şirnak[vii],
and most of all the Sur area of Diyarbakr[viii].
As the fighting calmed down following the huge government
onslaught, urban warfare has ceased, and in general the cities are calm.
Entrance to cities like Midyat is through military checkpoints and there is a
high military presence. I understand that on Mount Izlo there is a high level
of military personnel, possibly government forces, army and Village Guards, and
PKK. I had no difficulty travelling in the area, but was advised against
entering Nuseybin.
Compared to a year ago there is much more traffic, although
I noted that much heavy transport avoids part of the Silk Road north of
Nuseybin, taking a route looping round it. There did not appear to be any
curfews and night-time road closures.
The army tower at the Christian village of Hah (Anıtlı)
which was destroyed in May 2016[ix]
is being replaced by a larger fortified base.
The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advice against
travelling in the Mardin Province except for essential purposes and a ban on
any travel within 10 km of the Syrian border. While always seeking local
advice, I saw no reason for this.
The Syriac Community and its legal problems
The gardens of Deir Mor Gabriel
We stayed at the Monastery of Mor Gabriel outside Midyat for
three nights.
Mor Gabriel Monastery is large and significant monastery of
ancient foundation, the seat of the Bishop of Tur Abdin, a centre for
administration, of political influence, and a centre for studying the Syriac
language and theology. It is also a major visitor attraction, both for the
international Syriac Christian diaspora and for both Turkish and international
tourism. There were a few visitors in our days there. The monastery itself is
alive and flourishing, with a Bishop, three monks, several administrators and teachers
and over 20 resident students who study in the local schools in Midyat.
The main concern of the Bishop is a complex legal situation
concerning ownership of property, such as churches and graveyards. Over the
last decade there has been a continuing problem of the registration of
agricultural land which has been in the ownership of the church for centuries
and its confiscation by the government as ‘forestry’ or its transfer to other
owners, and while some cases have been settled there continue to be legal
challenges.[x]
The new situation is concerned with a change in the system
in local government. Until this year churches and graveyards in Christian
villages were owned by the local community. These communities in the Mardin
area are now directly governed by the Mardin local authority and all village
properties therefore became the property of the Mardin government. It is
uncertain what effect this will have. For some I spoke to it is yet another
attempt by an aggressive Muslim state to control the property of Christians.
Others saw it as simply a bureaucratic problem which could be resolved easily.
Smaller communities
Our visit was short, from Monday afternoon to Thursday, and
allowed us the chance to visit some villages and monasteries.
The city of Midyat has an ancient historic heart with
churches, and fine buildings, has seen considerable growth over the decades,
with new government infrastructure and considerable housing developments,
particularly in the Estel area. Although there are Syriac speaking Christian
families in Midyat, the majority of the population are Kurmanji speaking Kurds,
and in Estel there are many Arabic speaking Mhalmoye. The Christian churches
and monasteries are well cared for and in the summer season busy with visiting
Syriacs who stay in some of them.
The Church of the Bearer of God, Hah
We visited the village of Hah (Anıtlı) with its exquisite church of the
Bearer of God. We spoke to the mayor (muhtar) as well as a visiting doctor. The
village has a stable population and the security situation seems to be satisfactory.
In the Kurdish village of Salah we visited the monastery of St
Jacob (Mor Yaqub). The single monk was away at Deir Salib doing some
restoration or reconstruction. We spoke to the teacher (malfono) at the
monastery. Like most places it has many new buildings with guest rooms for
returning visitors. The relationship between the village and monastery is
particularly warm.
Furth south in the Mount Izlo region we passed through the
flourishing village of Harabale which has a fine new sports hall, through
restored villages which 20 years ago were abandoned. Izlo is the southern
heights of the plateau and in difficult times has been a centre for PKK
activity. It is a region which has been only Christian for many centuries, and
was completely depopulated from the 1970s on. The turn of the millennium saw
the return of migrants who with their new money built substantial houses in
which they live part of the year before returning to Europe for the cold winter
when much of the area can be cut off by snow. Unlike Harabale, these villages
have no schools and no children and their long-term viability is in question.
The Monastery of Mor Yaqub d-Qarno
There is one newly restored monastery on the southern edge of
Mount Izlo, the monastery of Mor Yaqub d-Qarno. It has seen significant work in
developing fields and orchards, and has one monk who is sometimes alone there.
It is a very isolated place. A few kilometres away is the monastery of Mor
Malke, with two monks. This monastery lost significant land in the cadastral
restructuring referred to above.
With the monk of Mor Awgen Monastery
On the southern escarpment of the mountain there are remains of a
number of monasteries and one of them, Mor Awgen, has been restarted over the
last decade with considerable work on terracing, clearance of land-slip and
restoration of the buildings. We spent several hours there with the one monk
and his student and another guest. Since my last visit in the Spring much of
the hillside to the south has had its terraces renovated and planted with olive
and other trees. A decade ago this had been a wild and abandoned place, but now
there is good accommodation, much clearance of rock-fall and significant land
under horticulture. There are continuing plans to tidy up ancient rock-cut
cells and other restoration work. The monk is concerned to take care not to
damage any archaeology, but carefully to renovate, remove some later walls and
open sections of the cloister up. The relationship with the local villages,
both Kurdish and Syriac, is warm. Villagers from the local Christian villages
come to the monastery on Sunday morning for worship and the monastery has a
close pastoral connection. As workers from the nearest Kurdish village are
employed by the monastery, there is a healthy symbiosis.
The view south from Mor Awgen Monastery, with Syria about 5 km away
Deir Mor Awgen looks over the plain of Mesopotamia, with the
Syrian border about 5 km away. To the north is the rocky and wild Izlo Mountain.
Along the escarpment are the remains of a number of monasteries. It has usually
been possible to walk on the difficult scree paths to some of them, and also to
walk up the mountain and along to Mor Yaqub d-Qarno, about an hour’s walk. When
I asked the monk if it was possible to make these short journeys he was clear
that anyone was likely to be shot, either by the Turkish military or the PKK.
It has not been like this in previous years and seems that the PKK, having
failed in the cities, has returned to the mountains where they were always
safest and more effective. In 15 years the region has declined from a place of
hopeful repopulation to a militarized and dangerous zone.
Mardin
Mardin
In one sense urban Mardin is not an integral part of Tur
Abdin, being a significant city to the west of the plateau. It is a city which
has grown dramatically over the 20 years in which I have been visiting. The old
city clings to the slopes around the fortress which is a still a military base,
with a NATO listening facility. An airport was opened in the late 1990s and a
new terminal building opened three years ago.
Recent years have seen the clearance of some modern concrete buildings
in the old town and it was a significant tourist centre, with a number of fine
medieval buildings. There is one Syriac priest, and the Christians use
different churches each week.
The recent instability has hit the tourism badly, but there
are signs of a return of Turkish tourists.
The Metropolitan of Mardin and some of his clergy in the Deir ul Zafaran monastery
On the outskirts of the city is the significant monastery of
Deir al Zafaran. It has a modern tourist centre, in which most of the shops are
closed, but three years ago was a very busy place making a significant
contribution to the local economy.
There have been frictions between the Bishop resident in the
monastery and the administrative board. However, it was through his pressure
that the local university started a Syriac course, and this continues with over
thirty students, nearly all of whom are not Syriac Christians. There are two
monks in the monastery and several workers.
The bishop seemed to feel that the present problem of the
government taking ownership of Christian village properties was merely an
administrative problem and would be sorted out with patience and good will.
Summary
Beth Qustan, a village of Tur Abdin
South East Turkey is a region in turmoil, and until there is
a settlement which brings a respect for the rights of Turkish citizens by the
government, and respect for minorities in the region by the majority it is hard
to look at the region with much hope. It needs to be asked why any young person
fuelled by the high education expectations of many of the Syriacs would wish to
remain in the region when they could flourish in Istanbul or Izmir, or even
migrate to Europe.
It is a region which has a high military presence, in which
Muslim Kurds and Arabs, Christian Syriacs as well as a tiny remnant of Yezidis
live with a sense of insecurity and mistrust of government action in any
sphere. In general, though it needs to be recognised that the Kurdish
leadership, and the KDP in particular, have been shown to be supportive of the
Christian population of the region. [xi]
For the Syriac community the continuing legal struggle over
land, both that resulting from the cadasral review of the last decade and the
new administrative taking ownership of village churches and graveyards is
tiring. It is easy for pessimists to feel under threat. However, I met people
who have returned from living in Europe to invest in their home villages with
hope and determination.
The resilience of the people is astonishing. The willingness
of monks, supported by local communities and the money of the diaspora to
re-establish abandoned monasteries set in some dangerous places shows bravery,
determination and faith. This inspires the young with a model of faithfulness
to God, their tradition and the land.
[i] My earlier reports can be found here on Syrian Orthodox Resources http://sor.cua.edu/Pub/StephenGriffith/VisitSETurkeySum1999.html
[ii] I
had been asked by the Middle East Forum of Churches Together in Britain and
Ireland to make regular reports to them, as they were aware of the catastrophic
decline but felt the need for accurate reporting rather than depending on third
party information.
[x] Se
p. 11 of Susanne Güsten’s report http://www.aina.org/reports/apita.pdf
