Midyat

Midyat
Basic data
Province (il) :	Mardin
Coordinates :	37 ° 25 '  N , 41 ° 22'  E Coordinates: 37 ° 25 '0 "  N , 41 ° 22' 11"  E
Height :	1000  m
Residents :	114,763 (2020)
Telephone code :	(+90) 482
Postal code :	47500
License plate :	47
Structure and administration (as of 2012)
Structure :	24 boroughs (Mahalle)
Mayor :	Veysi Şahin ( AKP )
Postal address :	Kocamanoğlu Caddesi No: 6 Akçakaya, Midyat
Website:	www.midyat.bel.tr
Midyat County
Kaymakam :	Tekin Dundar
Website (Kaymakam):	www.midyat.gov.tr

Midyat ( Arabic مديات, DMG Midyād ; Aramaic ܡܕܝܕ Mëḏyaḏ ; Kurdish Midyad or Midyad ) is a city ​​in Turkey originally inhabited by Aramaeans - Assyrians with 105,456 inhabitants. Midyat is located in the Tur Abdin countryside , in the south of the Turkish province of Mardin , which borders Syria. Today the city is mostly inhabited by Arabs and Kurds . Midyat has been the seat of the Syrian Orthodox bishop since 1478. The bishop has resided in the Mor Gabriel monastery since 2009 .

geography

Midyat is the main town of Tur Abdin , a limestone mountain range on the upper reaches of the Tigris . The city is about 1,000 m above sea level in a hilly landscape with meadows, fields and vineyards. in the east of the province of Mardin. The national road D 380 runs through the city from Mardin to Cizre . The D 995 begins in Midyat and leads north to the province and city of Batman . It is 51 km to the Syrian border in the south and 81 km to the provincial capital Mardin.

View over new town and old town

Surname

There are different sources about the origin and meaning of the name. According to some sources, the name means mirror , which after many changes was formed from a mixture of Persian, Arabic and Aramaic. According to another theory, Midyat got its name from the ancient Assyrian word matiate , which means city ​​of caves . This is indicated by an inscription on Assyrian tablets, which was created under King Aššur-nâṣir-apli II in the 9th century BC. Another interpretation gives the word matiate as Aramaic for my neighborhood or my home .

structure

The city actually consists of two parts. The actual Midyat lies in the east and houses all historical buildings and was the residential area of ​​the Christians. To the west was the younger town of Estel, where Muslims, especially Kurds, settled in the 19th century. The division into two can still be seen in the cityscape today.

Since a territorial reform in 2014, the district has the same area as the municipality of the same name ( Belediye ). All previous villages ( Köy ) are now districts ( Mahalle ) of the city: The city of Midyat had 77,937 inhabitants at the end of 2019. It is divided into nine districts (Mahalle). The remaining residents of the district are spread over the following districts:

Surname	Residents
Acırlı	3,274
Barıştepe	1,066
Basyurt	774
Budaklı	1,059
Çavuşlu	3,184
Gelinkaya	1,722
Kayallıpınar	1,318
Ortaca	777
Sarıköy	806
Şenköy	2,508
Sivrice	1,606
Söğütlü	2,380
Toptepe	1,150
Yayvantepe	1,082
Yolbaşı	3,247

population

Midyat was a historical center of the Assyrians in Turkey. Until the genocide in 1915, they made up the vast majority of the city's population. However, due to discrimination in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Christian population began to decline. Until 1979, Midyat and the Tur Abdin was the largest Christian area in Turkey outside of Istanbul. In 1979 the Assyrian mayor of Dargeçit, Andreas Demir Lahdik, was murdered and, against the will of the population, replaced by a Kurdish representative. Until then, the Assyrian Christians had a majority in political representation in the district. After the murder, the Muslim population made a symbolic declaration of war against the Assyrians, which led to panic among the Christian population and then to numerous emigrations, including to Germany. Shortly afterwards there was a mass immigration of Kurds from the northern areas, which led to a demographic shift. This was intensified to the detriment of the Assyrians when the fight with the PKK claimed numerous victims in 1984. The Assyrians were now in a quandary: Suspected of disloyalty by the Turkish state (since there were no Turks and no Muslims) and suspected by the PKK of betraying them to the state in order to make themselves popular with them. Of 50,000 inhabitants in 1975, only 2,000 remained at the end of the conflict in 1999. It is believed that Midyat was inhabited by more than 500 families by the early 1960s. The Arameans and Assyrians made up over 90% of the population. Today there are an estimated 120 Christian families living in Midyat, while at least 60,000 Kurdish residents, most of whom come from other villages. Since 2011, around 100 to 300 Assyrian Christians have immigrated from Syria, who fled to Midyat before the civil war in Syria . The Assyrians now make up only 1% of the local population.

politics

Mayor of Midyat has been Veysi Şahin from the AKP (Justice and Recovery Party) since 2012 ; he was re-elected in 2019 with 57.93%. In Midyat County the ADP scored 52.59 %, the HDP (People's Democratic Party) 34.02%, the Sertaç Alğaç 6.53%, the Iyi Parti (Good Party) 1.7%, the CHP (Republican People's Party) 1.4% and the SAADET (Party of Happiness) 1.39%.

Attractions

The Syrian Orthodox Mor Scharbel Church

In the old City

Midyat is known for its six churches:

• Mar Schmuni , from the 7th century
• Mor Barsaumo (also: Mor Bardsomo)
• Mor Akhsnoyo (also: Mar Philoxenos Aksenaja), after St. Philoxenos of Mabbug from the 6th century
• Mor scrap

these churches are currently empty because their owners have fled to Europe.

• the Protestant church Joldath Aloho (Marienkirche), 19th century

There is also that

• Monastery Mor Abrohom , which is still inhabited today.

There are other sacred buildings in the vicinity of Midyat:

• Dyro Monastery in Daslibo or Çatalçam or Dersalib
• Church in Zaz or Izbirak
• Monastery castle in Gülgöze (= Aynwardo) with the church Mor Had Bschabo.

The Mor Gabriel monastery is located about 20 km from Midyat. Also in the district of Midyat are the places Altıntaş (Keferze) and Anıtlı (Hah), in which some churches and monasteries are located.

coat of arms

On March 5, 2019, V. Şahin, the city's AKP mayor, changed the city's coat of arms and removed the Yazidi symbol, the peacock, from the coat of arms. Instead, a mosque was added which, according to the mayor, should represent a Yezidi temple. After protests by the HDP, which felt deceived by the AKP, the coat of arms was changed again on July 22, 2019 and a Yezidi temple was added to the city coat of arms.

Coat of arms of the city of Midyat since July 22, 2019.

Coat of arms of the city of Midyat from March 5th to July 22nd, 2019.

Coat of arms of the city of Midyat until March 4, 2019.

economy

In economic terms, Midyat is known for its silversmiths and filigree work, called Telkari . The city is also known for its stonemasonry ( Katori or Nahid ). Otherwise the district is characterized by agriculture. Midyat is known for a special form of bulgur , the Midyat Bulgur, and for Assyrian wine, Süryani şarabı .

history

The Mor Barsaumo Syrian Orthodox Church , Midyat

Midyat is already in the 13th century BC. In the Assyrian annals of the Assyrian king Ashhur-nasir-apli mentioned in writing: “I have submitted to Matiate (= Midyat) and his villages; I took rich booty with me and imposed tribute and heavy taxes on them. ”In the 6th century BC, Midyat was part of the Achaemenid Empire ; 330 BC It was conquered by Alexander the Great . 320 BC Until the 2nd century BC it belonged to the Seleucid Empire . After that it was the border region of the Parthian Empire and from 193 it was part of the Roman Empire as the province of Mesopotamia. According to later traditions, people are said to have been converted to Christianity by the apostles Thomas and Thaddäus in the 1st century .

In 640 the Arabs replaced the Byzantine Empire under the Umayyads . In 750 the Abbasids took power. At the height of the Abbasid Caliphate , under the Caliph Harun ar-Raschid , Midyat and its area underwent a major reconstruction of entire villages and buildings. In 1101 the whole area fell to the Seljuks under the Ortoqid dynasty . Muin ad-Din Sökmen I. ruled Midyat as the Emir of Mardin. His successors ruled until 1409, when the Ortoqid line became extinct. In 1402 the Mongols under Timur marched on their way to Ankara, plundering through the Nur Abdin. Between 1235 and 1243 the Seljuks lost the area to the Mongols and the Ortoqids became vassals of the Ilkhan . The successor of the Ortoqids was the Turkmen tribal federation Aq Qoyunlu (German: white mutton ). 1451 conquered the Qara Qoyunlu (German: black mutton ), the arch enemies of the Aq Qoyunlu, Mardin and the surrounding area; Midyat was one of them.

Midyat has been the bishopric of the Syrian Orthodox Church since 1478. In 1507 the Shah of Persia, Ismail I , conquered Midyat and Mardin, but had to withdraw from Anatolia in 1514 after the lost battle of Tschaldiran against the Ottomans under Sultan Selim I. Since then, the Ottomans ruled, which were replaced by the Republic of Turkey in 1923.

Midyat County was formed in 1810, and the town was raised to the status of a town in 1890. Due to the discrimination of the Christian population (including a ban on weapons, tax burden of up to 60%) and the numerous looting by Mongols and Turkish and Kurdish tribes in the Tur Abdins plateau, which at the end of the 14th, 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries with massacres in the As the genocide of 1915 peaked, the Christian population was severely decimated.

In 1855 the Kurdish leader Êzdan Şêr devastated the Tur Abdin, burned down the crops and stolen Assyrian women and children as slaves. The Kurdish raids lasted until 1877 when the sons of the Kurdish leader Badr Khan conquered the cities of Mardin, Midyat and Nusaybin and proclaimed a Kurdish emirate. It was only eight months later that an Ottoman army and the Assyrians succeeded in defeating and driving out the Kurds. After the first pogroms against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1894 to 1896 (the so-called Hamid massacres ), the repression of the non-Islamic population of Midyat intensified under Sultan Abdülhamid II . Abdülhamid II had an army formed from Kurdish associations, the Hamidiye Alaylari (German: Hamidis Kavallerie), which was intended to monitor non-Islamic areas in southeastern Anatolia. Since these troops were subordinate to the Sultan only, they could indiscriminately harass the Christian population of the area. In 1913, Isaac Armalto reported in his travelogue that between 6,000 and 7,000 people lived in Midyat. The majority are Syrian Orthodox Christians , plus 80 Protestant families, 30 Syrian Catholic , Chaldean and Armenian families, plus 50 Muslim families.

In July 1914, the Ottoman government decided to mobilize ( Safarbarlık ). All men in Midyat between the ages of 20 and 45 were taken away in chains to help the army build roads. However, no one came back. On July 6, 1915, the Kurdish cavalry units and the army attacked Midyat, murdered women and children and plundered the city. Few Christians were able to find refuge in the neighboring Arab countries, mostly in Syria and Lebanon . After 1930 the city was rebuilt with houses and churches. The number of Christian residents increased slightly.

Trilingual sign in the old town

climate

Midyat has a semi-arid climate with very hot and dry summers and wet, sometimes snowy winters. It often snows for a week or two between December and March and temperatures can drop to -10 °. In summer it is hottest in July and August with a daily mean of 30 °. The previous maximum temperature in summer was 48.8 °. The sun shines an average of 3000 hours a year.

Monthly averages for Midyat Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 6.1 7.5 12.0 17.7 24.2 30.9 35.3 34.9 30.4 23.1 14.4 8.2 O 20.5 Min. Temperature (° C) 0.6 1.3 4.7 9.9 15.1 20.2 24.6 24.6 20.6 14.6 7.7 2.7 O 12.3 Temperature (° C) 3.1 4.1 8.2 13.7 19.7 25.8 30.0 29.6 25.2 1.6 7.7 2.7 O 14.3 Precipitation ( mm ) 99.8 110.7 94.6 75.5 37.7 8.3 3.3 1.2 4.1 33.3 68.7 104.2 Σ 641.4 Rainy days ( d ) 10.6 10.6 10.7 9.9 6.6 1.7 0.5 0.2 0.7 5.3 7.4 10.2 Σ 74.4 Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü

Personalities

• Gabriel Asaad (1907–1997), Assyrian musician
• Yusuf Çetin (* 1954), Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar
• Ali Atalan (* 1968), German politician of Yazidi origin
• Hatune Dogan (* 1970), nun and philanthropist
• David Erkalp (* 1974), German-Turkish politician (CDU)

Web links

Commons : Midyat  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage (Turkish, German, English, Swedish, Dutch)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.citypopulation.de/de/turkey/mardin/TRC3105__midyat/
2. ↑ https://www.citypopulation.de/de/turkey/mardin/TRC3105__midyat/
3. ^ Turkey Destroys Assyrian Villages . Turkish Daily News. August 29, 1996. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
4. ↑ Syria's Assyrian Christians Find Refuge With Turkish Neighbors . Assyrian International News Agency. January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
5. ↑ hurriyet of March 31, 2019; https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/secim/31-mart-2019-yerel-secimleri/midyat-mardin-secim-sonuclari
6. ↑ HDP'den Midyat logosu için özür. Retrieved July 5, 2019 (Turkish). 
7. ↑ Midyat Belediyesi Ezidilerin talebini kabul etti: Logoda Laleşa Nurani yer alıyor. July 22, 2019, accessed July 23, 2019 (Turkish). 
8. ^ Syriac Orthodox Churches of Antioch e. V. , accessed November 20, 2012.
9. ^ Website of the Midyat cultural association , accessed on November 21, 2012.
10. ↑ Ed. Morris Rossabi: China among equals: the Middle Kingdom and its neighbors, 10th-14th centuries, p. 244
11. ↑ David Gaunt, Naures Atto and Soner Bathoma: Let them not return - the genocide against the Assyrian, Syriac and Chaledean Christians in the Ottoman Empire; Berghahn, New York and Oxford, 2017, ISBN 978-1785334986 ; P. 60f
12. ↑ Tfindji, J .: "L'Eglise Catholique Chaldéenne" in Annuaire Pontifical Catholic, No. 17, 1914, p. 511
13. ↑ The fall of Mëdyad / Midyat in the time of Sayfo 1914-15, Jan Bet-Şawoce, in: Parole de l'Orient 31, (2006), 269-277.
14. ↑ Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [1] | date = May 2012