Ancient Assyrian monastery opens up as museum after restoration

The ancient Mor Kiryakus Monastery, built around 1,600 years ago by Assyrians near the modern day village of Ayrancı in the Beşiri district of present-day Batman, Türkiye, has officially reopened to visitors following a comprehensive restoration.

Located at the foothills of Mount Kıra, the two-story monastery spans approximately 2,500 m² and is one of the oldest centers of Assyrian Christian spirituality in the northern edges of the Turabdin Region.

Restoration work began in 2017 and was completed in three phases under the supervision of Turkey’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums. The project preserved original architectural features while ensuring structural integrity, including the main church, courtyard, and gatehouse.

Local officials, including Batman Governor Ekrem Canalp, inaugurated the monastery with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by community leaders and residents. Canalp emphasized the role of Mor Kiryakus as part of a broader effort to expand tourism beyond Hasankeyf, aiming to double visitor numbers from 500,000 in 2025 to one million in 2026.

More than just a drive for tourism

While attracting more tourism is the stated goal with the restoration, the project also helps to diversify the history and identity of the region, often erroneously described solely as Kurdish due to the modern day ethnic majority of Kurds in the area. As such, the restoration of Assyrian heritage sites across the region serves not only to draw tourists, but to also serve a longterm political goal by the Turkish state of diversifying the identity of southeastern Turkey.

Another Assyrian heritage site, the monastery of Mor Aho, also in the Batman province, was restored by Turkey in 2018.