Red Madrasah (Medreseya Sor)

The Red Madrasah, known in Kurdish as Medreseya Sor, stands on the western stretch of Cizre's historic walls in the Dağkapı quarter and is one of the monuments most identified with the town.

History and Architecture

It was built in 1508, during the era of the Cizre Emirate, by Mir Şeref (Şerefxan), together with an adjoining mosque and tomb. It takes its name from the red brick that dominates its construction. The square-massed building occupies a roughly 38x28 metre rectangular footprint oriented north-south, arranged around an open courtyard (about 15x19 metres) ringed by colonnades, with madrasah cells lining all four sides; the mosque and mausoleum sections lie to the south.

Literature and Cultural Significance

The Red Madrasah is far more than a teaching building — it is a heartland of Kurdish literature. The divan poet, mystic and philosopher Melayê Cizîrî taught here and composed his most celebrated divan within these walls. Ehmedê Xanî, author of the famous Mem û Zîn epic, is recorded to have spent two years in seclusion at this madrasah while maturing his masterwork. For this reason the structure was, both before and after the Ottoman period, among the region's foremost centres of scholarship, Sufism and letters.

Restoration

Over the centuries it fell largely into ruin. It was first repaired in 2007 by the Directorate General of Foundations and reopened as a mosque and Qur'an school; when its walls deteriorated and its roof began to collapse, a comprehensive restoration was launched in 2020 at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Cizre District Governorate, after which it reopened serving once again as both mosque and madrasah.

Visiting

For visitors, the Red Madrasah is the natural start or end point of Cizre's walled old-town walking route; the warm texture of its red brick, plain arcades and courtyard make an ideal photographic atmosphere. When adding Cizre to a DMC itinerary, its architectural value combined with the rich literary narrative of Melayê Cizîrî and Ehmedê Xanî gives guides a powerful story to tell.