Zeynel Abidin Mosque & Mor Yakup ChurchPlaces to Visit in Mardin

The Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex and Mor Yakup Church are two outstanding testimonies of coexistence among religions for centuries in the town of Nusaybin (ancient Nisibis town) near Mardin. The Mor Yakup Church is located just 100 meters east of the Zeynel Abidin Mosque, while both structures are approximately 250 meters from the Syrian border.

Constructed from rough stones, the Mosque Complex has an L-shaped layout and features an open yard with a garden and a visible courtyard. The minaret on the east side of the yard was added in 1956. The mosque has a square plan with a north entrance, and its "harim" is covered with cross-vaulted roofs supported by massive columns. Although the mosque's "mihrab" and "minbar" are new, the structure was renovated and expanded over time. Notably, an inscription in the madrasa suggests that the "masjid" was converted into a mosque, and renovations were carried out in 1891.

At the southwest corner of the mosque complex, there are shrines to Zeynel Abidin and Sitti Zeynep. These domed cists are adorned with green coverings inscribed with Quranic verses. The doorways of each tomb feature inscriptions indicating that they were built in 1159. Additionally, an inscription from 1821 suggests that restoration work was done on Sitti Zeynep's shrine.

The mosque complex is flanked by two large cemeteries on its eastern and western facades, where ornamental stone graves belonging to sheikhs of Tayyi Tibe can be found. These graves date back to the late Ottoman period and are adorned with turban-shaped decorations.

Mor Yakup Church

The Mor Yakup Church, located in Nusaybin, Turkey, is named after the esteemed Assyrian saint who was born and raised in the town. In 309, Mor Yakup was appointed as the bishop of Nisibis, and in 313, he began construction of the cathedral in Nisibis, which was a crucial center for the Byzantine Empire, both commercially and politically.

Following his participation in the First Council of Nicaea in 325, Mor Yakup returned to Nusaybin with his student, Mor Afrem (St. Ephrem), who was a prominent ascetic, teacher, and hymnwriter. They reconstructed the Nisibis School, where they taught various subjects, including theology, philosophy, literature, law, medicine, astronomy, and geometry. By educating their students in the school, Mor Yakup and Mor Afrem helped spread Christianity throughout Mesopotamia.

The present-day Mor Yakup Church, one of the oldest religious buildings in Upper Mesopotamia, comprises two sections. The southern part of the structure has two opposing buttresses and is divided into two separate parts. The east side of the location has a 7-meter-square plaza with two doors on the northern and southern walls and an apse on the east side. An arch on the west side leads to the second part of the church. The most notable feature of the east side of the church is its wall decorations, which include several friezes on door mitigation arches, apses, and the western arch. Another frieze was created for the niche in the apse.

The southern structure's buttresses have Corinthian helmets on the southern region but differ on the western side. The north and south walls of the western part have door openings, and the upper portions are adorned with arches with fine embellishments. The middle buttresses near one of the west place's doors give it a modern feel. The ornaments are unique and display early and deep preparation examples of decoration, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries in northern Mesopotamia.

The dome covering the eastern square chamber is a good example of the architectural style seen in the southern structure. It was built in 1872 and has an inscription. A chamber on the western side of the monument was constructed around the same time. Mor Yakup's sarcophagus can be found in the capsules below the eastern square chamber.

The Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex and Mor Yakup Church were added to UNESCO's Tentative List in 2014.