Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church

Priority Stop Popularity 80/100 Visit 25 dk Best Season Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October); mild weather makes walking through the old city easier. Summer middays can exceed 40°C, so early morning hours are preferable. Category Faith/Culture

Faith Culture

Set within Diyarbakır's Sur district, inside the city's famous black basalt walls and at the heart of the old town's maze of narrow stone lanes, the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church is one of Anatolia's oldest continuously worshipping congregations and remains an active place of prayer today.

History

The site is thought to have held a pagan temple in the 1st century BC, while the core of the surviving church is dated to the Early Byzantine period, the 3rd century; scholars such as Guyer, Kleinbauer and Keser-Kayaalp point to this early origin. Syriac tradition holds that Saint Ephrem was baptised here in 303, and that a synod convened in the church in 309 elevated Saint Jacob of Nisibis to the episcopate. When the city was known by its Syriac name 'Amid', it was a stronghold of the Syriac tradition, and from the 11th to the late 19th century the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch periodically resided here, giving the church the standing of a patriarchal seat.

Architecture and Restoration

Architecturally the church forms a complex together with the adjoining Mor Yakup (St Jacob) Chapel, several courtyards, the divanhane or great hall, a schoolroom and clergy residences. Its main hall is covered by an octagonal brick dome, and it is built from Diyarbakır's characteristic black basalt using the Early Byzantine ashlar masonry technique. What makes the church truly distinctive is its rich interior craftsmanship: hand-carved walnut doors, wooden columns and railings, lecterns, silver hanging lamps (kandiller) and icons depicting the saints. Having burned, been damaged and repaired many times over the centuries, it preserves some fourteen restoration inscriptions, the oldest dated 1533, and it underwent a comprehensive restoration in 2005.

Devotional Value

Its devotional value is high as well: it is believed to hold relics attributed to the Apostle Thomas and Saint Jacob of Sarug, along with a significant collection of manuscripts.

Visiting and Tourist Value

For visitors, the church is the leading stop on the old city's Syriac-Armenian-Chaldean faith and culture route. Agencies build it into their Diyarbakır programmes almost as standard, both because it lies within easy walking distance of the Great Mosque and the hans and because it makes tangible the 'city of civilisations' story in which three monotheistic traditions have coexisted. The average visit lasts 20-30 minutes, and its courtyard, basalt façade and lamp-lit interior offer strong compositions for photographers. As a living house of worship, visitors are asked to dress modestly and keep quiet during their stay.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons — click a photo for author and licence.

Visit & Logistics

Getting thereWithin the old walled city (Sur), on Uçak Street in Lalebey neighbourhood; a 5-7 minute walk from the Great Mosque and Hasan Paşa Han. The nearest vehicle approach is via Mardin Gate or Dağ Gate; the final stretch is completed on foot due to the narrow lanes.
ParkingThere is no car park directly in front of the church; the nearest drop-off points are the Dağ Gate Square car park and the areas outside Mardin Gate and around the Inner Citadel. Entry into the old city is on foot.
Coach accessTour coaches cannot enter the narrow lanes of the old city; buses drop off at Dağ Gate Square or outside Mardin Gate, and groups approach the church on foot.
AccessibilityLimited; the old city's cobblestone lanes and the building's thresholds and steps make wheelchair access difficult. Assistance from a companion is recommended.
Photo spotsThe church's stone courtyard and carved walnut door façade; the silver lamps and saint icons of the octagonal-domed main hall; the interior passages and column rows where basalt and wood textures meet.
Suggested routePart of a three-church stop alongside the Surp Giragos and Chaldean churches in the faith-heritage circuit after the Four-Legged Minaret on the full-day old-city walking route; visited before noon, following breakfast at the Great Mosque and Hasan Paşa Han.

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Diyarbakır

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