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Culture 7

Historically the Syriacs in the homeland covered themselves more with clothes than today while living in the Western diaspora. The reasons are both culturally but also due to climate changes. As farmers they had to protect themselves against the burning sun. The farmers in Turabdin would bath on Saturday, cleaning themselves for Sunday when they would attend church in smart clothes.

In the villages of Turabdin there are no modern doctors. The closest doctor is in one of the cities, Midyat, Gziro or Mardin. Instead, there are people who had taught themselves some knowledge of traditional medicine and treatments and would try to cure the patients in the village. But if the patient did not get better she/he would be brought to Midyat, for example. Serious diseases such as cancer are not called by their name. Cancer is often referred to as kewo pis ‘the bad illness’.