The Deir is located 70km north of Mosul and 1.5km northeast of Alqush in northern Iraq. This is the sister monastery of Deir Rabban Hurmiz.
It is cared for by the Chaldean Church.
This monastery is known in the region as 'Deir Al-tahtani' or “the lower monastery” since it is close to Deir Rabban Hurmiz and run by the same monks. It was built over a three years period, 1858-61, to handle the increasing number of monks at Rabban Hurmiz monastery.
A large number of Chaldean-Assyrians visit the site on the 15th of May of every year to commemorate the holiday of the Virgin Mary, “Protector of the Crops”.
The building has four main sections
• the church of the monastery and a library
• dorms for visiting worshipers
• living quarters for the monks
• an orphanage which was later converted to a private school.
