The Sacred Sites of Qeleth

01/10/2026

By Suphi Aksoy | Member of the Presidential Committee of the Bethnahrin National Council

The village of Qeleth (Dereiçi), in the historic Tur Abdin region of southeastern Turkey, is home to numerous sacred sites, including monasteries, churches, and other places of worship. Tur Abdin has long been a center of Christian spirituality, with traditions tracing the arrival of the first preachers and disciples of the Apostles to the region to spread their faith.

Among the saints venerated in the region is Mor Aday, who, according to Christian tradition, had two helpers, Mor Agay and Mor Abay. Churches and monasteries were subsequently dedicated to these religious figures. The monastery in Qeleth named after Mor Abay, however, is associated with a particularly tragic story.

According to local legend, Qeleth, the son of the Persian King Darius, once passed through a settlement in Dara, now part of Merde (Mardin), where he heard people chanting hymns in caves and witnessed their religious worship. Deeply moved by what he saw, he embraced their faith.

His father vehemently opposed his conversion. Unable to persuade his son to abandon his new beliefs, the king eventually ordered his execution.

Some time later, King Darius fell seriously ill. According to the legend, an angel appeared to him in a dream and told him that he would not recover unless he accepted his son’s faith. Regretting his actions, the king subsequently built Mor Abay Monastery in his son’s memory.

The monastery, which comprised dozens of units, operated for centuries and provided a home for hundreds of monks and nuns. It also served as a center for religious education, training clergy and students in the Christian faith.

Although portions of Mor Abay Monastery remain standing today, other sections lie buried underground and have yet to be excavated. For generations, the monastery played an important spiritual role in the lives of Syriac Christians and other believers in the surrounding area, helping sustain their religious traditions and communal identity.

The monastery remained active and provided religious services until 1458, when it was reportedly destroyed by Timur, first ruler of the Timurid dynasty and founder of the Timurid Empire, alongside numerous other monasteries and churches. During the attack, more than 900 monks, nuns, children, and other residents of the monastery were said to have been killed. The monastery was subsequently abandoned and left in ruins.

Qeleth suffered further devastation during the Sayfo, the genocide of Syriac and other Christian communities in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. In the aftermath, only a small number of vulnerable residents, including young children, remained scattered across villages and settlements, with few resources to protect or maintain their churches and monasteries.

In addition to Mor Abay Monastery, Qeleth is home to two other monasteries, Mor Dimet and Mor Tevodote. The village also has Mor Yuhanun Church, believed to date to around 350 AD, as well as Syriac Catholic and Protestant churches.

One of Qeleth’s prominent religious figures was Metropolitan Mor Filiksinos Yuhanon Dolabani. After undergoing extensive religious training, he served for many years at Deyrulzafaran Monastery in Merde.

His tenure as metropolitan is remembered as a particularly productive period for the Syriac Church in Tur Abdin following the events of 1915. Dolabani wrote numerous books and articles, contributing to the preservation of Syriac religious and literary heritage.

Before the devastation of 1915, Qeleth had approximately 400 households and a population of more than 3,000. Following the massacres of that year, only 172 people reportedly remained, having sought refuge and protection in nearby settlements.

Many others were killed in massacres in and around the village. According to the account, approximately 800 adult men were rounded up and executed near the village of Amediye (Amedi). Others were killed with knives and other sharp instruments.

The destruction extended beyond the loss of life. Religious sites and homes throughout Qeleth were looted, while saints’ icons and tombs were damaged or destroyed. Dowry chests belonging to young women, brides, mothers, and grandmothers were also destroyed, and the community’s possessions and livestock were distributed among the perpetrators as spoils.

Among those who witnessed the suffering was Cico İbrahimke, who endured the devastation while maintaining the hope of rebuilding his village.

The ruins of Mor Abay Monastery and Qeleth’s other religious sites remain reminders of the region’s centuries-old Syriac Christian heritage, as well as the violence and destruction that profoundly altered the community in 1915.

The views expressed in this op-ed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SyriacPress.