Tur Abdin is a hilly region situated in southeast Turkey, including the eastern half of the Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for its Christian monasteries on the border of the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The area is a low plateau in the Anti-Taurus Mountains stretching from Mardin in the west to the Tigris in the east and delimited by the Mesopotamian plains to the south. The Tur Abdin is populated by more than 80 villages and nearly 70 monastery buildings and was mostly Syriac Orthodox until the early 20th century. The earliest surviving Christian buildings date from the 6th century.
Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age.
The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Mardin Province is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey. Its area is 8,780 km2, and its population is 870,374 (2022). The largest city in the province is Kızıltepe, while the capital Mardin is the second largest city.
Derinkuyu is a town in Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Derinkuyu District. Its population is 10,912 (2022). The elevation is 1,333 m (4,373 ft).
Midyat is a municipality and district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,241 km2, and its population is 120,069 (2022).
Assyrians in Turkey or Turkish Assyrians are an indigenous Semitic-speaking ethnic group and minority of Turkey who are Eastern Aramaic–speaking Christians, with most being members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Assyrian Pentecostal Church, Assyrian Evangelical Church, or Ancient Church of the East.
Kaymakli Underground City is contained within the citadel of Kaymakli in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. First opened to tourists in 1964, the village is about 19 km from Nevşehir, on the Nevşehir-Niğde road.
Derinkuyu also known as Elengubu, is an ancient multi-level underground city near the modern town of Derinkuyu in Nevşehir Province, Turkey, extending to a depth of approximately 85 metres (280 ft). It is large enough to have sheltered as many as 20,000 people together with their livestock and food stores. It is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey and is one of several underground complexes found throughout Cappadocia.
Christianity in Turkey has a long history dating back to the early origins of Christianity in Asia Minor during the 1st century AD. In modern times the percentage of Christians in Turkey has declined from 20-25% in 1914, to about 2% in 1927, to 0.2–0.4% today Sources estimate that the Christian population in Turkey ranges between 180,000 and 320,000. However, the exact number remains unclear due to the absence of a religious census in the country. The percentage of Christians in Turkey fell mainly as a result of the late Ottoman genocides: the Armenian genocide, Greek genocide, and Assyrian genocide, the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the emigration of Christians that began in the late 19th century and gained pace in the first quarter of the 20th century, and due to events such as the 1942 Varlık Vergisi tax levied on non-Muslim citizens in Turkey and the 1955 Istanbul pogrom against Greek and Armenian Christians. Exact numbers are difficult to estimate as many former Muslim converts to Christianity often hide their Christian faith for fear of familial pressure, religious discrimination, and persecution.
The Chełm Chalk Tunnels are a system of tunnels dug into the chalk under the city of Chełm in eastern Poland. The tunnelling began in the Middle Ages for chalk mining and was discontinued in the 19th century. The tunnels also served Chełm's inhabitants as shelters during raids, wars and pillage. The system is now open solely for tourists. In total, the network of tunnels stretches for around 15 kilometres.
Archaeology in Armenia has revealed many significant historical findings. Armenia is rich in Bronze Age sites and several Stone Age sites were recently identified on the slopes of the Aragats Mountain and are currently being excavated by Armenian and international teams. Archaeological excavations have taken place in the territory which is now the Republic of Armenia for about 150 years. Many sites, ranging from Stone Age to Early Iron Age, have been discovered and at least partly excavated. For the preservation and reconstruction of archaeological sites in Armenia, suggestions, and solutions have been proposed by L. Kirakosyan from National University of Architecture and Construction of Armenia.
The Szelim cave is located in northwestern Hungary at the western margin of the Gerecse Mountains, 289 m (948 ft) above the Által-ér Valley near Tatabánya city. The cave interior is 45 m (148 ft) long and 14 m (46 ft) high. The site has been regularly frequented and used as a shelter by local villagers over the centuries, is easily accessible and its huge rectangular entrance features a memorial of the Turul.
Yazidism in Turkey refers to adherents of Yazidism from Turkey, who remained in Turkey after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Yazidis living in Turkey during and after the second half of the 20th century gradually left for European countries. In the 1980s, there were 60,000 Yazidis situated in Beşiri, Kurtalan, Bismil, Midyat, Idil, Cizre, Nusaybin, Viranşehir, Suruç and Bozova. Today, these places are almost empty due to exodus to Europe which was provoked by political, religious and economic difficulties. Today only small number remain in villages around Midyat, Viranşehir, Çınar and Beşiri. According to the census of 2000, only 423 individuals adhering to Yazidism remained in the country.
Rock-cut architecture in Cappadocia in Central Turkey includes living and work spaces as well as sacred buildings like churches and monasteries, that were carved out of the soft tuff landscape.
This page lists major events of 2020 in archaeology.
Underground construction refers to the construction of underground tunnels, shafts, chambers, and passageways, it is also sometimes used to describe the portion of traditional construction that takes place below grade.
Boncuklu Tarla is an archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia of Turkey. It is the remains of a settlement occupied from the Late Epipalaeolithic to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B periods, starting over 12,000 years ago. It was discovered in 2008 during an archaeological survey in advance of the construction of the Ilısu Dam and has been excavated by a team from Mardin Museum since 2012.
This page lists major events of 2021 in archaeology.
The Bar Kokhba hiding complexes are underground hideout systems built by Jewish rebels and their communities in Judaea and used during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire. The hiding complexes are believed to have played a significant role during the revolt, particularly in Judea proper. Functioning as hiding places during times of emergency, these systems facilitated defense strategies and guerrilla warfare tactics.
