Assyrian Christians Turkey showing signs of life:
Still, compared to only a few years ago, there is a sense of slow renewal in several of the traditionally Assyrian villages in the area around Midyat. In the village of Kalit, a collection of old stone houses surrounded by green vineyards, Diaspora funds sent from Germany and Sweden has helped restore the historic church, which dates back to the 4th century.
Felixinos Saliba Ozmen, the metropolitan of Mardin, a town near Midyat that also once had a large Assyrian population, said he believes that a creeping return to the region by Assyrians is underway. "We would like to keep this hope alive. It has something to do with homesickness, homeland sickness," Ozmen said during a visit to the Kalit church with a group of former villagers who now live in Sweden.
"It’s very important that we live here," he added. "We have been here for 4,000 years in Mesopotamia, since before Christianity, and it’s very important for our culture, for our church, that we continue to live here."
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