Elbeğendi, Midyat

Elbeğendi (Classical Syriac: Kafro Tahtayto‎[nb 1]) is a village in Mardin Province in southeastern Turkey. It is located in the district of Midyat and the historical region of Tur Abdin.

Elbeğendi
Elbeğendi
Location in Turkey
Coordinates:
Country Turkey
ProvinceMardin Province
DistrictMidyat
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total50
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

In the village, there are churches of Mor Jacob and Mor Barsaumo, the Virgin Mary, and Mor Bosus.[2]

Etymology

The Syriac name of the village is derived from "kafro" ("village" in Syriac) and "tahtayto" ("lower" in Syriac), thus Kafro Tahtayto translates to "lower village". This name serves to distinguish the village from Kafro `Elayto ("upper village" in Syriac).

History

In 1900, Kafro Tahtayto was inhabited by 30 Assyrian families.[2] Amidst the Assyrian genocide, in 1915, the village's population fled to the Monastery of Mor Malke,[3] and was uninhabited until the first 8 families returned in 1916.[2]

The village's population grew to 46 families in 1970, however, they were forced to flee abroad due to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in the 1980s, and only 5 families remained by 1992.[2] The village was forcibly evicted by the Turkish army in 1995, and the remaining three families emigrated to Western Europe.[4]

In 2006, 17 Assyrian families returned to the village from Augsburg and Göppingen in Germany, and Trüllikon and Zürich in Switzerland.[5][6] In late July 2019, Assyrian properties in Kafro Tahtayto were struck by suspected arson attacks.[7]

Notable people

References

Notes

  1. Also simply known as Kafro.[2]

Citations

  1. "Population of province/district centres and towns/villages by districts - 2010". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. "Kafro" (in German). Entwicklungsverein Kafro. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  3. Kloster Mor Malke. Foundation for Conservation and Promotion of the Aramaic Cultural Heritage. (in German)
  4. "Kafro – Ein aramäisches Dorf, das der Staatsdoktrin trotzte". Firat News Agency (in German). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. Çaglar (2013), p. 122
  6. Güsten (2016), p. 11
  7. "Küllerinden doğan Süryani halkını, yangınlarla korkutamazsınız". Assyrian Genocide Research Centre (in Turkish). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.

Bibliography
  • Çaglar, Ayse (2013). "Rescaling cities, cultural diversity, and transnationalism: Migrants of Mardin and Essen". Anthropology of Migration and Multiculturalism: New Directions, ed. Steven Vertovec. Routledge. pp. 113–139.
  • Güsten, Susanne (2016). A Farewell to Tur Abdin (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.