5/5 Megan and Matthew N. 1 year ago on Google • 439 reviews
Stunning
at
Sunset
-at
anytime!
Mar
Matti
Monastery
is
a
Syriac-Orthodox
(Jacobite)
monastery
from
363
AD.
Over
the
years,
Mar
Matti
has
sheltered
and
impacted
thousands
of
people
and,
even
today,
anyone
is
welcome
to
stay
and
rest
at
the
monastery.
According
to
the
legend,
Mar
Matti
(Matthew)
came
from
Diyarbakir,
Turkey
fleeing
persecution
from
the
Roman
Emperor,
Julian
the
Apostate.
This
widespread
persecution
was
only
50
short
years
after
Consintine
I
(his
uncle)
converted
to
Christianity.
Mar
Matti
settled
in
Iraq
and
according
to
Syrian
Christianity,
"...
he
converted
the
son,
Behnam,
of
the
King
of
Assyria
and
his
daughter,
Sarah,
to
Christianity;
consequently
Sarah’s
leprosy
disappeared."
It
is
believed
that
King
Sennacherib,
of
Nimrod,
murdered
Mar
Mattai’s
son
and
daughter
in
retaliation
to
his
children's
conversions,
but
he
eventually
made
amends
by
gifting
Mount
Alfaf
for
Matthew
to
found
the
monastery.
Mar
Matti
is
known
for
it's
protection
of
monks
and
it's
library
of
copied
and
original
manuscripts.
It
faced
many
difficulties,
being
attacked
by
Arabs,
Kurds,
and
the
Mongols.
Today
the
monastery
is
under
the
protection
of
the
Kurdistan
Regional
Government
-receiving
special
care
and
protection.