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All Iraq Mosul Dair Mar Elia
Dair Mar Elia is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Dair Mar Elia

The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq until ISIS blew it up twice and then drove over it with bulldozers.

Mosul, Iraq

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Saint Elijah’s Monastery, Mosul, Iraq - the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq   Created by Doug, 18 February, 2005 and posted in Wikipedia under a GFDL license
Saint Elijah’s Monastery (Dair Mar Elia), south of Mosul, Iraq, was cared for by the Chaldean Church for centuries, and Christian pilgrims continued to visit the ruins   Photo courtesy of James Gordon
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The oldest Christian monastery in Iraq, Dair Mar Elia, or Saint Elijah's Monastery in English, was built in the 6th century.  The monastery was located in a fenced off area in FOB Marez and protected by the US Army Chaplin Corp, but is now under the control of ISIS.

Update: As of late 2014, this site no longer exists.  ISIS set off both surface and sub-surface bombs to destroy this historic site, then leveled the entire location with bulldozers. 

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Christianity

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The monastery was located just south of Mosul.

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designLV

Published

August 9, 2015

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dair_Mar_Elia
  • http://fsrn.org/2014/08/islamic-state-militants-push-into-iraqi-kurdistan/
  • http://bigstory.ap.org/article/5093ba551d1b45b08fe8a26363b88f54/only-ap-oldest-christian-monastery-iraq-razed
Dair Mar Elia
Mosul
Iraq
36.292472, 43.130913

Nearby Places

Mar Behnam Monastery

Iraq

miles away

Aqueduct of Jerwan

Al-Shikhan, Iraq

miles away

Rabban Hormizd Monastery

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Iraq

Iraq

Middle East

Places 26
Stories 16

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Mar Behnam Monastery

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miles away

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Iraq

Iraq

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Stories 16

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