Dayro d'Mor Gabriel 

Dayro d'Mor Gabriel (Qartmin)

Also known as Qartmin Monastery after a small village near the monastery, is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. Founded in 397 CE by the monks Mor Shmu'el and Mor Shem'un, it is located on the Tur Abdin plateau near Midyat, in southeastern Turkey. This ancient monastery has remained an important religious and cultural center for the Syriac Orthodox community for over 1600 years. It is commonly called the Monastery of St. Gabriel, after its abbot and bishop  Gabriel (d. 667). This monastery was the metropolitan see of Tur 'Abdin from 615 to 1049. Afterwards, its metropolitan was the ecclesiastical leader of a large part of Tur 'Abdin; still later, however, his jurisdiction was restricted to a private diocese until 1915. This monastery claims four Patriarchs, a Maphryono and seventy bishops. It is still inhabited.

Throughout its long history, Dayro Mor Gabriel has undergone several periods of expansion and renovation. It has served as the seat of a metropolitan bishop and has been a place of pilgrimage and learning. The monastery is renowned for its beautiful architecture, intricate mosaics, and significant collection of Syriac manuscripts. Despite facing challenges and periods of decline, it continues to be a symbol of resilience and a living testament to the enduring legacy of Syriac Christianity.

Dayro Mor Gabriel library contained many books, to which Mar Simon d-beth Zayte (d. 734) added one hundred and eighty volumes. Following his steps, his nephew David and then John, the metropolitan of Qartmin Monastery (998-1034), as well as his nephew, the monk Emmanuel, adorned it with seventy volumes of parchments written in his own hand. In 1169, two monks, Gabriel Bar Batriq and his brother Elisha, together with Moses of Kafr Salt, restored two hundred and seventy volumes