The Monastery of Mor Gabriel

At the present time, the monastery consist of two parts: the lower historic section and the upper new annexes from the last century (residences of the nuns and monks).

The earliest components of this religious complex were probably an oratory, on the spot where now is the main church, a cistern on the south side of this same church, the enclosing wall, and the so-called “Temple of Mor Samuel”, to be perhaps identified with a building which is connected with two rows of arches parallel to the wall south section (Palmer, Andrew. Monk and Mason on the Tigris Frontier: The Early History of Tur `Abdin. Cambridge England ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990: 40-49). Some of the ancient buildings were then attributed to imperial patronage, as previously mentioned, those are: the “House of Eternity” [beth qadishe], in the form of a domed sepulcher; the “Church of the Mother of God”, supposedly south of the burial chamber; the “House of Martyrs”, that stood at the lowest part of the present burial chamber; a prayer hall named as “House of the Apostles”; and finally the “Temple of Forty Martyrs”, i.e. a small transverse-hall-type chapel towards the north-western part of the monastery, now almost entirely rebuilt (Palmer, 1990: 58-72). Those included, of course, the Anastasian main church and the domed octagon traditionally attributed to the Empress Theodora, wife of Justinian.

The main church of the Monastery of Mor Gabriel is the largest example of the transverse-hall-type church in the region. Its nave is covered with a brick barrel vault and it is lit by windows on the south wall. Along the side walls of the nave there are low arches that rest on pillars. The opus sectile pavement and the expensive wall mosaics, with an incomplete Greek inscription in the main sanctuary of the monastery, support the claim that the monastery benefited from Anastasius patronage. Near the north-western corner of the Anastasian church, there is another building, which is probably contemporary with the church. It is a large octagonal dome originally made of brick, on the side of which is a long rectangular chamber referred to as “kitchens” [beth shabe]. The arcosolia in the “great dome” walls were arched over with brick in the same way as the inner casement of the windows in the great church (Palmer, 1990: 140-142).

South of the “Temple of Forty Martyrs” is a three-aisled pier-basilica which is dedicated to Yoldath Aloho [the Mother of God]. This plan type is unusual for Ṭūr ‘Abdīn, but its masonry points to a late antique foundation (Keser Kayaalp, 2021: 216). The church was fully renovated in 1991 and preserved in the present state. In the burial chamber over 12,000 relics of saints and martyrs were buried.

During the last century, the main church was roofed again, and two bell towers were erected respectively in 1971 and 1979, the second one housing the bell of the abandoned Protestant Church of Kfarburan, nearby. Other new annexes added in twentieth century are: the west wing housing the sisters and the school-masters’ families, the schoolrooms, and the accommodations for the boarders.