Midyat: Stone Houses, Syriac Monasteries, and Dibek Coffee
Mor Gabriel, the Second Oldest Monastery in the world, is still active today!
Midyat is known for its quaint, cobblestone streets and ancient Syriac churches. Everything in the old city is made from white limestone blocks. Because the stone is soft, the area is known for its intricate wall carvings.
Traveling on a budget can be challenging.
As I came to the end of my funds in Mardin, I knew I needed to be somewhere quiet where I could sit and work for a week to earn some much needed revenue. The town of Midyat became my solace.
I informed the hotel of my situation upon checking in, and they kindly allowed me to stay without paying anything up front. As I was quite literally completely drained of funds, their complimentary breakfast became my only sustenance for a week. Breakfast was a multi-course meal featuring fruit, eggs, an assortment of olives and a platter of various local cheeses. In typical Turkish fashion, in addition to the main courses, breakfast was served with an endless onslaught of small dishes filled with different jams, honeys and nut butters to dip the never-ending supply of bread.
Each morning I spent several hours in the inner courtyard slowly working my way through the endless breakfast and watching the shadows stretch across the white stone walls.
My days then consisted of remote work, helping out several ministries back home in Texas bring their brands to life.
Once a day, I’d also take an excursion to a local site—just to break up the monotony.
Mor Gabriel Monastery
The Second Oldest Christian Monastery in the World
Founded in 397 AD, Mor Gabriel Monastery is one of the holiest and most important monumental structures of Syriac cultural and historical heritage. A small portion of the site is open to outside visitors, yet most of the monastery is off limits as it is in use by the Syriac Monks who continue to inhabit the monastery after centuries of tradition.
Believe it or not, the oldest Christian Monastery in the world is actually located just across the border in Iran.
I’ve lived my entire life not realizing the deep heritage that this land carries. It was only by experiencing this first hand did I begin to realize that what we’ve been taught to believe is not the whole picture. This is ancient Mesopotamia, after all, so it only makes sense that the oldest religions in the world are found here.
While the world would tell you that this part of the world is Muslim, the locals would disagree. The local Syriac community are quite proud of their ancient Christian heritage.
Of course, there is a Muslim population here as well. In most places in Turkey, the mosques look ancient as well because they’re often build on top of the oldest churches. In this region, however, the Syriacs would never allow that. As a result, the Islamic structures in this town look jarringly out of place and are only found in the newer parts of town.
On one of my daily wanderings I encountered a husband and wife couple sitting in the middle of a narrow street. They were feeding their sheep (seen in the image above).
The pace of life here is different. There’s always time for a conversation with a stranger. The man ducked behind a stone door wall, emerged with another chair, and I soon found myself seated with them. As I sat and practiced my broken Turkish, I was introduced to a new word: dibek.
When I looked it up, it meant “mortar”. What an odd way to describe coffee!
Of course, I accepted the invitation when “mortar coffee” was offered, wondering what sort of cement concoction would arrive. The stout woman returned from behind the wall with a tray of treats: Turkish delights and three small cups of Turkish coffee with a twist.
I soon learned that dibek refers to the mortar grind stone (as in mortar and pestle) used to grind various spices into the fine coffee powder before brewing. The result is a tasty concoction similar to a Massalah chai in coffee form.
…and just like that Dibek Coffee became my new go-to when ordering Turkish coffee, although I’ve yet to find any quite as scrumptious as the cup served with unparalleled hospitality in the cobbled streets of Midyat.
After a week of work, funds came through. I paid my hotel bill and headed off into the sunset on my next grand adventure.
The longest fortress wall in the world awaits…