Located on the slopes of Mount Kıra near the village of Ayrancı in Beşiri district, the two-story monastery spans 2,500 square meters and dates back to the 5th century.
Related: The Case of the St. Gabriel Assyrian Monastery in Midyat, Turkey
The restoration, carried out in three phases, was overseen by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums. The completion of the project was marked by an opening ceremony held in the monastery's courtyard, drawing local residents, officials and visitors.
Speaking at the ceremony, Batman Governor Ekrem Canalp described 2025 as a "year of tourism breakthroughs" for the province, emphasizing efforts to diversify and expand tourism beyond the famed Hasankeyf archaeological site.
"We can no longer accept that tourism in Batman begins and ends in Hasankeyf," he said. "From now on, we are committed to reviving tourism in all five of our districts."
The governor noted that the province aims to attract 500,000 tourists this year and to double that number by 2026. Umut Görgülü, head of the Excavations Department at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, highlighted the importance of restoring the monastery after 16 centuries.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by local officials and representatives from various institutions.
The Mor Kiryakus Monastery stands as a representation of the region's Syriac Christian heritage.
Syriacs are an indigenous Semitic-speaking ethnic group and minority of Türkiye, who are Eastern Aramaic--speaking Christians. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Once home to a vibrant community, the Syriac population in Türkiye today is much smaller, with most communities centered in Istanbul and southern towns like Mardin's Midyat.
The sect is known to be one of the world's oldest Christian communities. Their historic churches and monasteries, including Mor Gabriel and Deyrulzafaran in Mardin, are central to preserving the legacy of Syriac Christianity in Anatolia.
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