daily devotionals online logo Thursday, March 28, 2024 11:06 AM GMT+1
       Reset Password        Click here to sign up.
 
daily devotionals online
Home
       our daily bread
Our Daily Bread
       the good seed
The Good Seed
       the LORD is near
The LORD is near
       andrew wommack
Andrew Wommack
       billy graham
Billy Graham
 
christian topics
Christian
       general topics
General
       interesting topics
Interesting
 

2,000-Year-Old Underground Turkish City May Have Sheltered Persecuted Christians
Posted by Temmy
Wed, May 18, 2022 4:09pm




An underground city in southeastern Turkey built roughly 2,000 years ago is believed to have sheltered early Christians amid Roman persecution.

The ancient complex, known as Matiate, is located in the Midyat district of Mardin province. It was first uncovered in 2020 and is believed to be the largest underground city in the world, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Gani Tarkan, the director of the Mardin Museum and head of the excavation, explained that the underground city was likely built as a refuge for Christians fleeing Roman persecution.

"Matiate has been used uninterruptedly for 1,900 years. It was first built as a hiding place or escape area," he told Daily Sabah.

"As it is known, Christianity was not an official religion in the second century. Families and groups who accepted Christianity generally took shelter in underground cities to escape the persecution of Rome or formed an underground city," he added. "Possibly, the underground city of Midyat was one of the living spaces built for this purpose."

Tarkan also noted that the site may have housed at least 60,000-70,000 underground and that it includes close to 50 chambers and a tunnel over 100 yards long.

Lozan Bayar, an archaeologist with Mardin's Office for Protection and Supervision, also acknowledged that the Matiate was a likely refuge for early believers.

"In the early period of Christianity, Rome was under the influence of pagans before later recognizing Christianity as an official religion. Such underground cities provided security to people, and they also performed their prayers there," he told the Turkish news outlet Hürriyet Daily News. "They were also places of escape," he added.

As reported by The Christian Post, researchers believe a Christian church and Jewish synagogue were part of the complex's worship space. The synagogue includes a large hall with the Star of David on one of its walls.

According to Live Science, the underground city first appeared in ninth-century Assyrian records. Its proximity to limestone caves is likely one of the reasons the city was named Matiate, which means "city of caves."





 

More From Christian Chat Room Archives


8 Christians kidnapped from Nigerian church bus released: 'Glory be to Jesus'
8 Christians kidnapped from Nigerian church bus released: 'Glory be to Jesus'
Posted on Mon, April 12, 2021 8:03pm


Eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who were abducted by gunmen last month while traveling on a bus to a church program in the Kaduna state of northwest Nigeria have been freed.

"Today I got the exciting news that our brethren who were in captivity of kidnappers have all been...More
Biden admin. appeals ruling protecting religious hospitals from transgender surgery mandate
Biden admin. appeals ruling protecting religious hospitals from transgender surgery mandate
Posted on Fri, April 23, 2021 9:05am


The Biden administration is working to keep in place an Obamacare mandate that would require doctors and hospitals to perform gender transition surgeries even if doing so violates their religious beliefs as it continues to face scrutiny from the judicial branch.

Luke Goodrich, vice president and...More
'God is Real, He Knows Us': Actor Jon Voight Says a Divine Encounter Got His Life Back on Track
'God is Real, He Knows Us': Actor Jon Voight Says a Divine Encounter Got His Life Back on Track
Posted on Mon, July 19, 2021 2:59pm


Long-time actor Jon Voight recently shared details about a time in his life when things weren't going so well, but after an encounter with God, he began to rethink his sense of purpose.

"I was in a lot of trouble at one point. I had some problems and I was really suffering for many reasons,"...More



 



For enquiries, notifications and ad placement send mail to [email protected]
Copyright 2012 - 2024 All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy || Terms & Conditions