Rabban Hormizd Monastery

Rabban Hormizd was founded around 640 by the monk whose name it carries, built into the face of the escarpment above Alqosh with a church and living quarters partly constructed and partly cut into the rock, and caves and cells hollowed out along the cliff where monks lived in seclusion. It was for centuries the principal monastery of the Church of the East and the burial place of its patriarchs, whose tombs are in a chamber cut from the stone. The community moved down to a newer monastery, Notre-Dame des Semences, in the valley in the nineteenth century, and the old buildings are maintained rather than fully occupied. The view from the terrace runs out over the whole Nineveh Plain.

What you actually see

• Rock-cut cells - hermit chambers hollowed along the cliff face.
• The patriarchs' tombs - burial chamber cut into the stone.
• The cliff church - the monastery buildings against the escarpment.
• The plain below - the Nineveh Plains from the terrace.

When to go

March to May and September to November. Christian feast days bring visitors from the surrounding towns. Summer is very hot on the exposed rock and winter can be wet and cold.

Honest expectations

The road up the escarpment is steep and narrow. Reaching the upper caves involves scrambling. The monastery is not fully occupied and access to some areas depends on finding a keyholder. Current access advice for the area should be checked.

Nearby

Alqosh lies directly below; Mar Mattai is southeast.