Dayro d'Mor Youhanon Daylamaya

Dayro d'Mor Youhanon Daylamaya

The Monastery of St. John of Dailam, also known as Naqortaya or Nuqurtaya is a small Syriac Orthodox religious complex located about three kilometers north of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq. It was inhabited until 1734. Some of its ruins can still be seen. It was later re-built

Tradition holds that John of Dailam founded the Naqortaya monastery. He was active in the region during the seventh century and is he credited with converting the local population from the Church of the East to the Syriac Orthodox Church. However, the oldest verifiable mention of the monastery only appears in the late 9th century, with a separate Syriac manuscript recording its consecration in 1115.

According to the accounts of Bar Hebraeus, the monastery suffered a devastating raid in 1261 when the Kurds attacked the monastery, burned the structure and killed its monks. This left the site abandoned until it was eventually rebuilt in 1563. When most residents of Bakhdida began to convert to the Syriac Catholic Church in the 18th century, the monastery, remaining under the control of the Syriac Orthodox Church, was left deserted. A modern excavation and reconstruction effort took place in 1998, revealing an ancient carved altar and establishing a large courtyard with a fountain and a statue. 

The Naqortaya monastery is a crucial pilgrimage site, visited by thousands of Syriac Orthodox pilgrims from the Nineveh Plains region. They come to celebrate the feast of Yoḥannan Daylamáyá (John of Dailam), which takes place on the last Friday of March.