Published in Greek, in 1994 (DOMOS Publishing House, Athens - Greece), 240 p., this book consists in a really atypical itinerary linking historical moments, topics of History of Religions, and the description of monuments and archeological places with the personal experience of the traveler, as well as with transcendental, spiritual contacts the author seems to have had while traveling in, studying and exploring the area of today’s South-Eastern Turkey in the middle and late 80s. by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

1. The Six Stars of the Orient - A
Cultural and Historical Itinerary in
South-Eastern Turkey
The Six Stars of the Orient - A Cultural and Historical Itinerary in South-
Eastern Turkey
by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Published in Greek, in 1994 (DOMOS Publishing House, Athens - Greece), 240
p., this book consists in a really atypical itinerary linking historical moments,
topics of History of Religions, and the description of monuments and
archeological places with the personal experience of the traveler, as well as
with transcendental, spiritual contacts the author seems to have had while
traveling in, studying and exploring the area of today’s South-Eastern Turkey
in the middle and late 80s.
This unusual and odd travel ‘guide’ book presents six cities and/or provinces
of Eastern Turkey, namely Urfa (Edessa of Osrhoene), Commagene, Amida
(Diyarbakir), Mardin (Margdis), Nisibis (Nusaybin), and Thospitis (Van), at
two levels, present time (middle to late 80s to be precise) and Antiquity. The
narrative covers the real, daily and physical, as well as the transcendental
levels of existence, of understanding and of events. The author presents all
aspects of human achievement carried out in that area, from architecture to
government to faith; parts of the narrative concern the activities and works of
several Grand Masters of the Intuition and the Initiation. Reference is also
made to part of deeds and exploits that seem to have taken place under the
surface of the Earth, presumably inhabited in its inner parts, according to the
author.
In the Preface, the author attempts to familiarize the average Greek reader
with the area of Eastern Turkey, a task that is badly needed. As a matter of
fact, Modern Greeks have been totally misinformed due to systematic
misinterpretation of the political conflicts that occurred between their country
and Turkey for decades. Thus, they have been driven to total ignorance of
their neighboring country at all levels, due to the destructive role played by
the unreliable and untrustworthy Greek mass media.
Yet, many Greeks have been born in Turkey; surprisingly but truly, Turkish
was for many decades the first foreign language in Greece, and it was more
widely used than French, German or English. This was due to the fact that the
exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece in 1925 drove to Greece
more than 1.5 million Christians of Anatolia, who were all fluent in Turkish.

2. As a matter of fact, Turkish was the official language of their state, the
language used in the schools, and at times the mother tongue of some of these
people. On the other hand, among these populations, the knowledge of Greek
prior to their arrival in Greece was questionable. The discussion of similar
issues may make now this book look of rather political of content, but in fact,
it has nothing to do with politics whatsoever. From the very beginning of the
first chapter the reader can realize this very easily.
1. Edessa of Osrhoene
Edessa of Osrhoene, today's Urfa in South - Eastern Turkey, is the central
point of the first chapter. Already in this chapter we discover all the
fundamental characteristics and the major trends of Megalommatis' itinerary
narratives. After describing monuments and archeological remains, the
author gives a great part of consideration and deploys a great effort to present
– in a very vivid way – several, selected moments of the Edessene past, i.e.
various glorious pages of the history of Edessa of Osrhoene, as well as of the
entire province of Harran.
The portrait of the rival, Egyptian and Babylonian, armies of Nechao and
Nebukadnezzar, observing each other from the opposite river shores of
Euphrates at Karkhemish is very strong and truly impressive. Certainly, the
greater area of Harran was the crosspoint par excellence between
Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia and Anatolia for thousands of years.
Megalommatis refers to Harran and its monuments, moving throughout
History, from Abraham's crossing to the Islamic times.
Absolutely fascinating are the descriptions of the Sabians, the famous
astrosymbolists of Late Antiquity Sumatar. Muhammad Shamsaddin
Megalommatis holds them as highly skillful mystics initiated in the greatest
secrets pertaining to the End of Times, and to the arrival of the Messiah. The
author refers to their voluntary dispersion, which was attested several
decades ago; he explains the otherwise mysterious development as an
indication that the period prophesied as the End of Times has arrived, and he
assures the readers that the Sabians, currently unidentified as dispersed in
unknown locations, continue pursuing their highly evaluated work during
the lifetime of the Messiah. The text turns therefore apocalyptic for the
average reader, as the author insinuates that we are living at the times of the
Messiah.
2. Commagene
The second chapter is dedicated to Commagene, and within this long
presentation of the small Anatolian state that was ultimately annexed to the
Roman Empire, Megalommatis expands on the magnificent remains of the
monumental and superb site of Nemrut Dagh, i.e. the famous "Ierothesion
Koryfes" (peak sanctuary) of the Commagene Kingdom. He elucidates the
raison d'être of this extraordinary site, which is one of the most impressive

3. ones worldwide; for this to be done, many pages of this chapter are dedicated
to a lengthy philosophical, ideological, historical and spiritual approach.
An extraordinary site comparison is also offered in this chapter; Nemrut Dagh
is compared with Takht-e Suleyman, the presumably "rival" holy place in
Iran. Out of the former emanated a system of iconolatrous polytheism,
whereas the latter emitted a diametrically opposed system, i.e. a strict
aniconic monotheism. It was for this reason that Takht-e Suleyman was
always revered by the monotheistic Sassanid Iranian court as the holiest place
throughout Iran.
Before comparing the quintessence of both sanctuaries’ ideologies and the
functionality of the two different philosophical, ideological, and spiritual
systems at the social level of the average believers, Megalommatis, who had
already published numerous academic contributions with respect to
Mithraism, goes through a vast analysis of the background of Mithraism. This
is the religious-spiritual system which prevailed in Commagene as opposite
to Zoroastrianism, i.e. the system that emanated from Takht-e Suleyman.
The historical background of the polytheistic Mithraic opposition to the
monotheistic Zoroastrian orthodoxy of the Achaemenid Iranian court is
presented by Megalommatis in a meticulous way, and the same analytical
method is used when the author makes a synthesis of the historical and the
philosophical developments that took place during the Arsacid and the
Sassanid times in Iran.
Through the comprehensive analysis, the reader understands how important
the Iranian radiation, influence and impact have been throughout the Greco-
Roman world, since Mithraism was not only diffused among Greeks and
Romans, but it also became the official religion of the Roman Empire itself.
Even more surprising is the way Megalommatis attempts to make of all this
material an important component of our lives today; at the end of the chapter,
the author, bringing the subject at a rather ethical – behavioral level, offers his
readership an excellent advice, namely to kill one's own, inner, Commagene!
It is obvious that in this manner, transcendental Commagene becomes the
synonym for pessimism, deviation, devastation, or negative spirit.
3. Amida
In the book’s third chapter, Megalommatis presents Amida, the present day
city of Diyarbakir, the great Kurmanji capital of Turkey. Very striking visions
from Daniel's book of prophecy are to be met here, since the river Tigris is
considered as the common vehicle of intuitive ideas and powerful images at
the End of Times. At another point of the chapter, an impressive juxtaposition
between Edessa and Amida reveals to the reader the fundamental
characteristics of the nature of these two cities and the basic aspects of their
‘souls’. Thus, Edessa (Urfa) is presented as the city of the family life and of the

4. spiritual calmness next to the blessed waters of the lake, whereas Amida
(Diyarbakir) is depicted as the city of the sexual passions and material
pleasures in the bars, the night clubs, and the brothels next to the virulent
flow of Tigris, the river with the most aggressive current.
Even more fascinating pages are dedicated to a symbolic description of the
initiation that the author had in the historical and esoteric mysteries of
Amida, at the Mansion of the Amidian Black Lady and Diachronic Mistress.
This Domus seems to be a royal atelier of the Oriental Free Masonry
permanently established in Amida. The Amidian Black Lady had apparently
difficult exercises adjusted to the author, and at the end, she rewarded him
with insightful answers to his many questions as regards the History of
Esoterism.
Diyarbakir is the correct place to speak extensively about Kurds. That is why
in this chapter Megalommatis presents in a very literary manner the History
of the so-called Kurds during the Antiquity, the Islamic Ages, and the modern
times, adding comprehensive information about the Yezidis, a 'Kurdish'
religious minority. The Yazidis live mostly around Mosul and Dohuk, in
Northern Iraq, but they are present in Amida / Diyarbakir as well. They
believe in a religious – theological system that is vaguely reminiscent of
different Gnostic faiths and of the Manichaean Cosmology. Yazidism adopted
also many elements from Islam, preserving however its genuine character,
spiritual autonomy and Holy Book, the renowned Mashaf-e Ras, the Black
Holy Book, to which the author refers, including also a few excerpts. The
vision of the Sublime Nineveh, as the ultimate capital of all the 'Kurds',
heralding the Celestial Jerusalem, closes the chapter.
4. Nisibis
The great caravan city – center of Philosophy, Theology and Ideology, Nisibis
– Nusaybin, comes next! It is an excellent occasion for the author to offer us a
theoretical diagram and a deep understanding of the most famous and the
most controversial Gnostic system of the Late Antiquity, i.e. Manicheism, the
system set up by Mani to which so extensively Islamic historians referred as
the ‘Manawiyah’, starting with Tabari.
This presentation takes the form of a rather imaginative discussion the author,
now depicted as a member of an old times caravan, had with a very particular
traveler, the Manichaean hierophant, magician and philosopher Bardaisan.
The ideological extrapolation helps the reader not only to understand the
basic concepts and the real dimensions of the system established by Mani, but
also to get historical viewpoints over this spiritual system, cosmology,
eschatology, philosophy and religion. The author also presents several of the
known, historical, theoretical refutations of Mani's system, which were
elaborated by high priests and philosophers of rather Iranian Mazdeist
background.

5. Of no lesser interest are the vivid and colorful descriptions and the strong
images that the author offers his readers; the meticulous portrait of the
Manichaean Bardaisan itself, including his turban, his aura and his eyes, is
closer to painting than to literature. A close study of the Manichaean frescos
of Turfan (at the Central Asiatic deserts of Eastern Turkestan or Sinkiang,
actually a Northwestern Chinese province) seems to have served here as
source of inspiration for Prof. Megalommatis. All this happens, as if we have
traveled back in time, and more precisely in the era of the Sassanid Empire.
All the important monuments of Nusaybin, Mar Augen, and the Tur Abdin
area are also described in this chapter. After this passage, Megalommatis
attempts to offer to the average reader the opportunity of another time travel,
in this case thanks to a discussion with a Yemenite merchant, Daud Reydan,
who seems to have visited Nisibis by means of a phenomenal mirage!
5. Mardin
As a matter of fact, the fifth chapter of the book focuses on Mardin, which was
known as Margdis at the times of the Roman Empire. After presenting a
historical outline and an attractive narration of the architectural scenery, i.e.
the old and aristocratic houses of the Mardinians, their schools, mosques and
castles, Megalommatis refers to the old Mesopotamian days of glory of that
city which was known as Marida to the Assyrians. Particularly, the Assyrians
were known for the magnificent constructions that they built either on the
surface of the Earth or in the subterranean world.
Then follows the most fascinating part of the chapter whereby the author
refers to an unusual experience of initiation that he had in one of the
Mardinian mansions from where he seems to have had access to deeply hewn
underground corridors, as well as to landscapes of the ‘hollow’ Earth, a
notion that we also encounter in Jules Verne and in Umberto Eco!
Megalommatis describes his entire experience under the auspices, the
theoretical – ideological coverage, and the emblem of Sin, i.e. the Moon,
which was one of the supreme symbols of the Assyrian Sargonid
monotheism.
The author reports that he encountered mystically decorated bas-reliefs
related to the ancient Assyrian divine concepts of Ishtar or Adad in the
subterranean passages that he crossed. He even advanced further as these
passages can lead to faraway places; then, after an initial description of the
locations that he visited, he specifies that different teams belonging to the two
opposite Mesopotamian nations, namely the monotheistic Assyrians and the
polytheistic Babylonians, built different subterranean passages and corridors
always acting in the sense of outmaneuvering the adversary's work. Finally,
Megalommatis narrates a great vision that he had in the subterranean world.

6. A dark circle, containing the faces of leading Monophysitic theologians and
clergy, and more particularly those of Peter the Gnafeus, Severus, and Jacob
the Baradaius, and a bright, golden-like circle encompassing the faces of the
Nestorian vanguard, Narses, Yihiba, and Barsuma, the son of Fasting,
appeared as terribly clashing against one another. The vision about the
clashing rays that emanated from the two circle takes an end and then starts
the narration of the author's encounter with a centuries old Wise Man, who
introduced himself as follows:
"Abdisho, Holy of Knowledge of the Great Assyrian Church of the Orient,
Seal of Knowledge of Jesus, Augustus Fighter, Treasurer of the Wisdom of
Nestorius and of Theodorus of Mopsuestia, High Judge of the Scale of
Barsuma, Grand Master of the Drishane Class of Errants, Follower of the
Preaching of the Great Grand Master Sergius Bahira, who taught the Truth to
Muhammad of the Arabs, Afraat Speeches Memorizing Award, Member of
the Natar Kurshia, Interpreter of Nuhara Tismshatha, and Humble Soldier of
Jesus and of the Prophets against the Society of Evil".
Even more intriguing are the historical references Abdisho pointed out to the
author. While narrating in the length the Monophysitic – Nestorian conflict
that shaped all major developments within Oriental Christianity, Abdisho
describes incredible details and gives insightful explanations about all the
important intellectual, ideological and cultural developments in the History
of Oriental Christianity. Tatianus, Bardaisan, the rise of the Sassanids in Iran,
and its impact on Oriental Christianity, the ideological and religious systems
of the Sassanid Iran, Afraat and his fight against Manichaeism, Shapur's effort
to consolidate Mazdeism and his double fight against Manichaeism and
Oriental Christianity, the opposition between Dabisho and Far Boht, the
persecutions of the Oriental Christians under Yazdgerd II, details from the
Chronicle of the Karkha of Bet Selok, the great work of Nestorius, stories from
the Bet Lapat synod, and information about the continuation of Nestorius'
work by Barsuma are included in this part. Everything is narrated, as if felt
and known by a person who lived at those days and bore witness to the
aforementioned events and developments, i.e. someone who was deeply
involved in all these issues. The overall scenery is narrated in a vivid and
fascinating manner.
6. Thospitis / Van
The last chapter of the book covers Thospitis, i.e. Van, as is called the lake city
at the easternmost confines of Modern Turkey, not far from the borders with
Iran and Iraq. The chapter also relates to the famous Hakkari province, which
is superb in terms of natural environment, high and rocky mountains, narrow
passages, cold water rivers, great caverns, wild forests and, generally
speaking, inhospitable frontier zone.
The chapter actually starts with a very strong and most fascinating,

7. imaginative description, namely a narrative about Assyrian imperial soldiers
attending Emperor Assurbanipal's hunting of and engagement in body
combat with lions in what may have been an early November, freezing and
glacial morning at a location in Hakkari Province that the Ancient Assyrians
called Hubushkia. These are very unusual passages for what is known as
Modern Greek literature; the text is full of intriguing archaic words, triggering
the outburst of very striking emotions. Later on, Megalommatis mentions his
own personal experience and wintertime traveling adventures that he had in
the same area; further on, we find references to Prophet Jeremiah's passing by
that area during his long travel from the Holy Land to an island at the
Western confines of the world!
The Eighth Campaign of Sargon of Assyria which was an extraordinary and
unprecedented event of great military and cultural importance, the departure
of the Assyrians and the ten tribes of Israel from the lands of the Assyrian
Empire, and their way through that area to the Eastern, the Northern and
ultimately the Western part of Europe, the 'Kurdish' and the 'Assyrian'
Aramaic Nestorian presence (notably the Qudshanis / Konak Patriarchate),
the importance of the area for the Great Powers during World War I, and
their involvement in the then terrible local developments cover consequently
many pages of this chapter.
Another narrative reflects moments of the final expedition of Heraclius (a
campaign that started from Trabzon) against Iran's Chosroes II (Khusraw
Parvez). After a very detailed identification of the locations through which
Heraclius' armies passed, Megalommatis draws the conclusion that even this
boldest attempt must have left the area of Hakkari aside; so inhospitable and
dangerous it was viewed to be!
A far-reaching personal experience of the author has been intermingled with a
historical event that may have happened in this very area during the Sassanid
times. Details of the Zaradosht teachings, a balanced system that tried to pull
Manicheans back to the Mazdeism and to the Sassanid Court official version
of Zoroastrianism, as well as several other crucial points of the Sassanid era
are presented through a very fascinating interlocution the author may have
had with Ulughash, an Iranian scribe of the days of Varahran II.
Then, various historical and archaeological sites are discussed, namely Hosap,
Cavustepe and other important places of Van Province, always with historical
and modern bibliographical references. At the end, the author focuses on Van,
which was named Tushpa by the Ancient Assyrians; this city was the capital
of the pre-Armenian kingdom of Urartu that developed a great civilization
during the first pre-Christian millennium. Urartu represents an important
period of the Anatolian History.

8. Further discussing historical issues pertaining to the wider Van Province, the
author takes a clear pro-Ottoman position, criticizing the political errors of the
early 20th c. Armenians, who sided with Russia and France and thus betrayed
their own country (i.e. the Ottoman Empire). It is only following this betrayal
that the Armenians were duly kicked out of their homes, because they
inhabited a militarily sensitive zone nearby the Ottoman front at a moment
the Ottoman army was receding to safer locations, following the attack of the
Tsarist Russian armies. In their way through 'Kurdish' (: Zaza and Kurmanji)
villages, thousands of Armenians have been slaughtered, but this certainly
cannot be called ‘genocide’, because it is neither an extermination plan nor the
fault – let alone the crime of the Ottoman administration; the calamitous and
deplorable event was only the consequence of the fact that the Armenian
populations of the Ottoman Empire had impermissibly become a tool at the
hands of an enemy, i. e. Tsarist Russia.
At the very end of the book's lengthier chapter, we come across the most
fascinating passage, namely a conversation that the author seems to have had
with a Wise Elder within a huge pearl at the very bottom of the Thospitis
(Van) Lake. The Wise Elder initiated the author in the Universalist and
Pacificist Dream of Sammurammat, the famous Assyrian Queen, who is more
widely known as Semiramis within the environment of Western literatures
after the Hellenization of her name by Herodotus. At this point, the author
comes up with an entire course of History of Religions, involving an entire
recapitulation of the Ancient Assyrian Religion, and more particularly of the
Sargonid Assyrian Monotheism, as well as an in-depth analysis of the basic
symbols of the Assyrian mythology. The author closes the chapter with a
reference to the modern Northern European peoples, whom he identifies as
the descendants of the Assyrians and the Ten Tribes of Israel, stating that
nowadays the real Orient is located in the Occident! The chapter closes with
the verses:
And until the Orient returns
to the East,
what I liked most in Thospitis,
was Hakkari.
In his Epilogue, Megalommatis mentions details of his initiation in the Order
of the Kurdish ‘Quatuor Coronati’ lodge, and reveals several terms of the said
Order; he also states (in 1994) the importance of the year 2005 for the Order.
Maps and Glossary complete this fascinating publication.
By Prof. Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
Published: 8/12/2005