Continuing North from Midyat: Hasankeyf on the Tigris River and Mor Yakup

At the northern and southern edges of the Tur Abdin plateau lie two ancient river and border crossings that pair naturally with a day in Midyat or Dara: the 4th-century school and church of Nisibis (Nusaybin) on the southern plain, and the turquoise canyon of the Tigris River (Dicle Nehri) at Hasankeyf just 35 minutes north of Midyat.

1. Nusaybin (Ancient Nisibis): Mor Yakup Church (325 AD) and Zeynel Abidin Complex

Sitting on the flat plain 25 minutes south-east of Dara (and right at the foot of the Beyazsu valley road down from Midyat), Nusaybin (ancient Nisibis) was home in the 4th century AD to the School of Nisibis, the world's first theological and philosophical university, headed by poet-theologian St Ephrem the Syrian:

• The Church of Mor Yakup (St Jacob of Nisibis, 313 to 325 AD): built by Bishop Jacob of Nisibis (who attended the 325 AD First Council of Nicaea in Iznik), this is one of the earliest surviving baptisteries and churches in Christendom, adorned with exquisite 4th-century Hellenistic-style carved stone Corinthian capitals, grape-vine friezes and the subterranean crypt tomb of St Jacob.
• Zeynel Abidin Mosque Complex (12th Century): standing literally 50 metres across the shared garden from Mor Yakup Church, so the church bell tower and mosque minaret stand side by side as a symbol of coexistence, jointly inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

2. Hasankeyf on the Tigris River (40 km north of Midyat)

Driving 35 minutes north from Midyat into Batman province brings you to the banks of the Tigris River (Dicle Nehri) at Hasankeyf. Following the filling of the Ilısu Dam reservoir in 2019 to 2020, engineers moved seven of Hasankeyf's most important medieval monuments intact on giant 200-wheel self-propelled transporters to the new lakeside Hasankeyf Cultural Park and Archeopark, including the cylindrical turquoise-glazed brick 1473 Tomb of Zeynel Bey, the 14th-century Artuklu Hamam, the 1328 Koç and Sultan Süleyman Mosques, and the monumental middle gate, while sightseeing boats depart from the new marina pier to cruise through the turquoise canyon beneath the towering caves of the Upper Citadel (Yukarı Kale).