4 Best Sights in Midyat, The Black Sea Coast and Lake Van

In the villages around Midyat are dozens of churches, many still in use and dating back to the 5th through 8th century. The area suffered considerably during the Kurdish uprising, and many Christians moved to Germany, Sweden, and Australia, though a small number are beginning to return and many visit in summer. The most extraordinary religious site is the Monastery of the Mother of God at Hah (Anıtlı in Turkish), probably from the 6th century, which has an elaborately carved classical interior and exterior.

With their numbers dwindling, Midyat's Syriac Orthodox community rotates services throughout the old town's churches, so it's hard to know which one will be open. Your best bet is the Mor Barsaumo church, open most afternoons. It has a beautiful chapel with distinctive locally made artwork and lovely stonework.

Twenty-five kilometers (15½ miles) southeast of Midyat is the Mor Gabriel monastery, built on the site of a church that dates back to 387. The monastery is on the top of a hill in a desolate area, surrounded by fields and vineyards, a peaceful and tranquil setting. Reopened as a monastery in 1952 after having been closed for some time, the building is a traditionally a nunnery, though barely a dozen women remain; a few monks and the local patriarch, known as a Metropolitan, are also in residence, as are children sent to boarding school here to help preserve the ancient Syriac language. Two churches and a grotto hold the graves of monks who have lived here throughout the centuries. Young men who live here as students are usually on hand to show guests around.

The Syriac Christians have a long tradition of wine making, but Shiluh is the region's first professional winery. Shiluh has a shop in the center of Midyat, but the winery is 7 km (4 miles) from Midyat on the road to Mor Gabriel, where they hold regular wine tastings (though mostly in Turkish) during high season.