The Midyat State Guesthouse (Ishak Shabo Mansion): a Historical and Architectural Study of Christian Civil Heritage in Tur Abdin

This article examines a heritage stone mansion situated in the Midyat Urban Conservation Area of the town of Midyat in Mardin Province, southeastern Türkiye. Specifically, it is located on Culture and Arts Street in the Akçakaya district of Abraham Shabo. Now known as the “State Guesthouse” (Turkish: Devlet Konukevi), the building is situated at the highest point of the conservation zone. With three floors above ground level, it is the tallest structure in the protected area. The mansion contains a total of five inscriptions: one on the first floor and four on the third. Written in Arabic, Turkish and Syriac, these multilingual inscriptions reflect the origins of the building in a culturally and linguistically diverse society. The earliest dated inscription dates to 1214 AH/1799 CE, while the most recent dates to 1948, indicating a continuous phase of transformation extending from the late Ottoman period into the early Republican era. This study is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of the mansion as a whole, including all its inscriptions, shedding light on an understudied aspect of the Christian cultural heritage in Tur Abdin. The study focuses on the Syriac Christian Shabo family, the mansion’s original patrons, and particularly on Ishak Shabo, who played a pivotal role in its construction. It also takes an in-depth look at the contributions of the local Syriac stonemasons Malke Abraham and Elias Maksi. The preserved inscriptions on the building attest to their involvement in the construction. The research provides a thorough analysis of the mansion’s construction phases, architectural plan, typology, façade articulation, ornamental stone carving, and epigraphic details.