Dayr Yakub is a C5th monastery on the edge of the suburbs to the south of Urfa. The monastery is built on the top of a hill above an ancient quarry and clearly appropriated the site of a former pagan sanctuary. The earlier cult complex was also used as a necropolis as well as a place of sacrifice as a Palmyrene-style tomb tower, complete with a Syriac inscription, was incorporated into the later monastery buildings.
Creator
Emma Loosley
Date of Visit
18th November 2012
Contributor
Emma Loosley and Peter Leeming
Rights
Metadata and all media released under Creative Commons unless otherwise indicated
Type
Architecture
Tags
C5th, Dayr Yakub, Edessa, Inscription, Monastery, Necropolis, Palmyra, Quarry, Syriac, Syriac Inscription, Tomb Tower, Turkey, Urfa
Collection
Citation
Emma Loosley, “Dayr Yakub,” Architecture and Asceticism, accessed November 23, 2024, https://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/132.