After suffering heavy damage in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, the approximately 1,600-year-old Saint George Church in Diyarbakır, southeastern Türkiye, has begun restoration, with a new dome prepared and installed by crane, which has been missing for nearly 100 years.

Cemil Koç, the director of the Diyarbakır Survey and Monuments Department, stated: "We created a dome cover made of polycarbonate material on a wooden structure with a circumference of 40 meters (131.23 feet) and a diameter of 14 meters, our aim was to cover it with a new covering without breaking the visual connection with the sky, which has been ingrained in the minds of visitors."

Located at the northeastern corner of the historical Içkale settlement in the Sur district, the Saint George Church was built as a governance church by the Romans 1,600 years ago and underwent restoration in 2020.

Previously serving as an art gallery, the church reopened as an art gallery in June 2021 after its restoration by the Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality's Department of Planning and Urbanism, the church suffered significant damage in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş.

To restore the church to its former glory, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s General Directorate of Cultural Assets and Museums and the Diyarbakır Survey and Monuments Directorate initiated restoration work in July 2023, as part of this effort, the church’s dome, which had been damaged nearly 100 years ago and remained open, was covered with a transparent dome to protect the structure from natural elements like rain and snow and maintain indoor temperature.

Following the installation of the dome by crane, restoration work accelerated, the interior of the dome and church was filmed with a drone, and after the restoration, the historical structure will once again serve as an art gallery.

Damage after 1930s

Providing information about the restoration efforts, Cemil Koç said: "The Saint George Church is located at the northeastern corner of Içkale, it is a structure built on the outer castle walls, the church section was built in the third century during the Roman Period. The church is known as the 'Black Priest Church,' the part we are currently in was built as an addition to the western façade of the church during the Artuqid period, which is commonly known as a bath by the public but has been identified as a madrasa in research studies."

"The structure has gone through various processes over time. In our restoration work to date, we have identified different interventions across five different periods, the part of the building we are in, the madrasa section, was constructed in the 12th century during the Artuqid period," he added.

Koç continued: "During the Ottoman Period, it was used as an armory. Based on available photographs until the 1910s, we can determine that it was covered with a dome, which was later replaced with an octagonal cone-shaped tiled cover after the dome collapsed during the republic period, since the 1930s, various reasons have caused damage to the upper part of the structure, and it has continued to exist without a covering until today."

He explained that during a restoration in 2008, no work was done on the existing covering, but over time, various deteriorations were observed due to rain and snow entering the structure. "Therefore, we initiated project studies related to covering the upper part of the structure, as part of the prepared project, a decision was made to cover the upper part, after the earthquakes in 2023, we started restoration work, and under the approved projects, the manufacturing of the covering has been completed," he said.

"We have created a covering that protects it from natural atmospheric effects while maintaining the visual integrity with the sky. The restoration is expected to be completed by the end of the year, we are already finalizing our last touches. Strengthening work has been carried out to address structural issues, wooden frames are currently being installed, manufacturing related to heating the interior and lighting is ongoing," he outlined.