Return of Mor Gabriel land to be debated today

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Mor Gabriel is a 1,700-year-old historic monastery located in Midyat. AA Phot

The return of the lands of the historic Mor Gabriel Monastery to the Syriac community in Turkey will be discussed today at the assembly of foundations, the highest decision-making body of the general directorate for foundations.

Mor Gabriel is a 1,700-year-old historic monastery located in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district. In 2008, the Forestry Ministry, the Land Registry Cadaster Office and the villages of Yayvantepe, Çandarlı and Eğlence sued the monastery for allegedly occupying their fields.

The lawsuit was finalized last year, recognizing the monastery as an “occupier.” The case was then brought to the European Court of Human Rights.

“The land of the Mor Gabriel Monastery will return to the monastery’s foundation,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised last week, while declaring a wide range of reforms on democracy.