Bethkustan

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Bethkustan
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Bethkustan (Turkey)
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Basic data
Province (il) : Mardin
District ( ilçe ) : Midyat
Coordinates : 37 ° 30 '  N , 41 ° 38'  E Coordinates: 37 ° 29 '37 "  N , 41 ° 37' 35"  E
Height : 930  m
Residents : 144 (2013)
Telephone code : (+90) 482
Postal code : 47500
License plate : 47
Structure and administration (status: 2018)
Muhtar : İbrahim Aktaș

Bethkustan ( Aramaic ܒܝܬ ܩܘܢܨܛܢ Beth Kustan , German ' Das Haus Konstantin' , Kurdish Baqisyan ) is a village in southeastern Turkey in the Midyat district in the Mardin province .

The place was renamed Alagöz in the 20th century. In 2015 it was the first Aramaic village to get its original name back.

location

Bethkustan is about 36 km northeast of Midyat near the border with Syria . As one of the few villages in the region, it is still predominantly inhabited by Syrian Orthodox Christians . The population is just under 150. Other neighboring villages are distributed as follows:

Hasankeyf
52 km 		Dargeçit
32 km
Neighboring communities Cizre
68 km
Midyat
36 km 		Mor Gabriel Monastery
56 km

landscape

Vineyards, oaks and other fruit trees shape the landscape. To the northeast of the village, on the opposite side of the mountain, are the ruins of Harbe d-Mor Gabriel . The ruins of the monastery of Saint Gabriel , the most famous son of this village, are a courtyard, the walls of which are made of heavy stone blocks.

Not far from the village is the Shu'o d-Helane , a rock named after Helena , the mother of Constantine. To the south of the village there are cave complexes that have been enlarged by the extraction of limestone . During the quarrying of the limestone on the southern edge of the village, very old graves were uncovered, some of which were dug into the rock.

At a distance of about four kilometers east of the village in the mountain i M'artho da 'ajobe is the Cave of Miracles , a particularly complex and legendary cave whose entrance is blocked.

The Zini landscape is further northeast, here you come across ruins of an ancient civilization as well as caves, wells and other structures carved into the hard rock.

The Harbe da Hadode (ruins of the forge) northwest of it are the remains of an old village. Large stone pillars stand here in the middle of the houses made of rectangular stones weighing tons. Most of the walls are still almost completely upright, but the ceilings have all collapsed. Nothing is known about the population.

The Dayrinto is a bare mountain side northeast of the village. There are also remains of old buildings, including the Mor Shem'un Church.

history

Like many other villages in Tur Abdin , Beth Kustan was probably settled in pre-Christian times. It is said that in pre-Christian times Beth Kustan was a hostel or resting place for travelers and that the army of Constantine crossed the village several times.

Beth Kustan, like many other villages in Tur Abdin, was probably Christianized in the 4th century. The Mor Eliyo Church is dated to 343.

After the rise of Islam there were several armed conflicts from the 15th century:

After 1960 emigration began , first to Midyat and Istanbul and later to Western Europe and Scandinavia . The emigration has almost depopulated the village. There are currently about 12 families living in Beth Kustan.

Churches

In the area around Bethkustan you can find the ruins of many churches in addition to the famous Mor Gabriel monastery. The Mor Barsawmo Church is located on a mountain top and the remains of two churches, Mor Osyo and a Mother of God Church are also in the Sarhavdana landscape . The churches were probably destroyed by the Tatar Khan Timur around 1400. To the southeast of Sarhavdana are the ruins of Mor Esha'yo Church in the gorge on a hill.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Turkish Institute for Statistics ( Memento of December 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 9, 2014