Ancient Turkish monastery houses Christian refugees

December 31, 2014

National Geographic has published a profile of the churches and monastery in Midyat, Turkey, a city that was once a center of Syriac Orthodoxy but whose Christian population has now dwindled.

Four monks remain at the monastery, which now houses refugees from Syria and Iraq.

“We can’t be citizens here,” said one refugee. “We have no jobs; our children can’t go to school; we have no future for our children; and we can’t go back to Syria. So the only option is to go to Europe.”

 

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Further information:

• Middle Eastern Christians Flee Violence for Ancient Homeland (National Geographic)