HOW TO SAVE A DYING LANGUAGE
Geoffrey Khan is racing to document Aramaic, the language of Jesus, before its native speakers vanishBy Ariel Sabar, Smithsonian magazine, February 2013It was a sunny morning in May, and I…
SYRIAC ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY: ”THIS IS SIMPLY OUR HOME”
In recent years, around 60-100 Syriac Orthodox families have returned from central Europe to Turkey. Encouraged by changes in the political atmosphere, the minority nonetheless faces a host of problems,…
CHRISTIANS SQUEEZED OUT BY VIOLENT STRUGGLE IN NORTH SYRIA
By SUSANNE GÜSTEN MIDYAT, TURKEY — The bright voices of children at play echoed off the ancient walls of Mor Hanonyo last week, breaking centuries of stillness in this 1,600-year-old…
SYRIACS WANT SEPARATE REFUGEE CAMP IN TURKEY
Leading Syriac figures say they met with officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Foreign Ministry in an effort to establish a separate camp in Mardin for…
EU ‘SERIOUSLY CONCERNED’ ABOUT MOR GABRIEL MONASTERY
The European Union has stated that it is "seriously concerned" about a court decision on the Mor Gabriel Monastery in Mardin.The spokesman for Stefan Füle, the commissioner responsible for the…
AN OUTPOST OF ARAMAIC SPEAKERS; THE BATTLE FOR MOR GABRIEL
WHEN the Young Turks enlisted Kurdish tribesmen to take part in the mass slaughter of the Armenians in 1915, Muslim clerics spurred on their flocks: those who slew Christians would…
LEGAL ISSUES CAST DOUBT ON RETURN OF CHRISTIANS TO TURKEY’S SOUTHEAST
by Dorian Jones Turkey is home to Syriac Christians, whose followers extend across the Middle East. In the 1990s, many Syriac Christians fled Turkey during years of fighting between the…
SYRIACS JOIN OPPOSITION TO TOPPLE AL-ASSAD GOVERNMENT
A group of Syrian Syriacs have thrown their support behind the struggle against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by forming an agreement with the leading representatives of the Syrian opposition, the…
SYRIACS FORM GROUP IN SWISS TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD
Twelve Syriac-origin lawmakers in the Swiss Parliament have come together to establish a group that aims to make the voice of Syriacs heard. The group, named “Schweiz Suryoye” (Switzerland Syriacs)…
CHRISTIAN GROUP ‘WILL BE’ OK WITH BROTHERHOOD
A recently established council bringing together Syria’s Christian minority groups in Syria has no fear of a possible Muslim Brotherhood rule in the country, according to a prominent member.“We want…