The building has a single entrance in accordance with the general design principles of monastery buildings. This entrance was located to the west and provides access to the complex. Today, it is very difficult to determine the exact original functions of all the building spaces. For this reason, the spaces are named using general concepts in the survey drawings (Fig. 6).

To start with, when the spatial features of Mor Loozor Monastery are examined, as a general observation, it is obvious that illegal excavations were made on the interior walls, floor, and courtyard. The local people also confirmed this observation. Over time, the building collapsed due to irreversible interventions by trespassers. In addition to the deterioration due to time, the building is also vandalized and heavily damaged over the years.

The entrance hall extends in the east-west direction and has a rectangular plan. At the western side of the entrance hall was the entrance door to the monastery complex, and at the eastern side was an arched gateway leading to the adjacent room. The entrance hall was covered with a rubble stone barrel vault that was formed. This structure is a common form of covering in the Syriac Orthodox religious architecture of Tur Abdin.

The courtyard, the largest area of the building, can be accessed from the south of the entrance hall. The courtyard is usually located in the center of the monastery buildings. Monastery complexes partially surrounded the northern and eastern sides and the western side of the courtyard. In contrast, exterior walls bordered the southern and western sides. At the northeast corner of the courtyard, there is a stone staircase leading to the upper floor of the monastery. The monastery was built on a natural rock plateau, and the natural rocks formed the pavement of the monastery courtyard. These natural rocks are also noticeable outside the building in the northeast towards the village. The most remarkable part of the building, the seclusion tower, is located in the center of the courtyard (Fig. 7). The seclusion tower was built of cut stone with a circular plan. Yet, the tower's base had a square plan and was hollow inside. The tower was used by monks and priests as a place of seclusion to live an ascetic lifestyle. Nowadays, there is an approximately 80 cm hole on the north side of the tower. This hole was formed as a result of material damage over time. Additionally, some channels can be observed in the south of the tower, which has a hollow in the center. These channels can also be seen around the cisterns. Therefore, it was probably related to the cistern. The monastery building was included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Tentative Heritage List on 15 April 2021. It was stated that the tower of the building and the drainage system of the channels around it were unique (UNESCO 2021).

Some monastery rooms were located at the western and northeastern ends of the courtyard. These rooms have a rectangular floor plan. However, their original function remains uncertain. Şanlıurfa Cultural Heritage Conservation Regional Board suggests that they may have served as dining halls or stables.7 The rooms were covered with a rubble stone barrel vault. There are many niches in these rooms, and some of these niches were destroyed or hollowed out due to interventions over time. Today, the rooms are largely filled with rubble stones and piles of soil. As mentioned before, this situation results from illegal excavations in the rooms and results from illegal excavations in the rooms and throughout the monastery.

On the eastern side of the courtyard, there is a semi-open porticoed space. These areas provide access from the courtyard to the rooms and the church. Cistern holes were on the ground of the porticoes in the north direction. Cistern holes in a circular form were observed embedded in the ground at various points within the monastery, and they were used to meet the water demand during the original period of the monastery.

Upon examining old photographs of the ruins in the southeast direction of the monastery, it was determined that there used to be a space with a portico before 2010, which was subsequently destroyed due to lack of preservation (Fig. 8).

Therefore, it can be concluded that the porticoed space in the monastery was originally of an L-plan type.

The church has a planned orientation of a transverse hall in accordance with the typology proposed by Bell and Mundell Mango (1982). Inside the church are arched niches and horseshoe arches on both sides of the entrance door on the west wall. The church interior was divided into two main spaces- the nave and the sanctuary.8 The sanctuary, located in the eastern direction, was the sacred area reserved for religious rituals and ceremonies. In the upper levels of the church, there were small windows for ventilation and niche-shaped openings, though these did not directly connect to the exterior. The height of the sanctuary space exceeded that of the other areas within the monastery complex, likely indicating its specialized liturgical function. Three cistern holes were found in various sections of the church. Currently, these cistern features are partially filled with rubble and soil. Access to the sanctuary from the nave was through a pointed arched portal, typical of Syriac church architecture. The sanctuary was only accessible to the clergy and high-ranking religious personnel in accordance with liturgical conventions. Hollerwerger (1999) documented the presence of an element referred to as a “throne” or “table of life” situated in front of the cut stone window on the east wall of the naos. However, this area is now obscured by piles of rubble and soil (Fig. 9).

Stone stairs can access the second floor on the northeast side of the courtyard. On the second floor, there are open spaces in the form of a flat terrace roof and two rooms (Fig. 10). These rooms on the upper floor appear to have been originally used as dormitories. The rectangular room in the north, extending east-west, is accessed through a door with cut stones. Part of the upper cover of this room was reconstructed in reinforced concrete. On the east side of the same room, a cross vault built of original rubble stone can be observed. It can be assumed that the wall between the cross-vaulted section and the section with the reinforced concrete roof was demolished over time. This assumption is supported by the presence of many piles of stones and soil in this area and the differentiation of the roof structure.

The room with a square plan extending in the north-south direction can be accessed by a cut stone door to the terrace from the west wall. There are two symmetrical windows on the east side of the room, and a hearth is located in the center. A hearth in the room suggests that it was originally used as a kitchen or cooking area, etc. The room, covered with a barrel vault, has a party wall with the church on the south side due to the high elevation level of the church.

The porticoes in the monastery were used as terraces at the second-floor level and provided access to the rooms. The roof of the recently demolished porticoes to the southeast collapsed. These terrace roofs were covered with a layer of cement screed, which was added later. This intervention was intended to insulate the roof; however, it appears to have been an inappropriate and inadequate solution.

No documentation has been obtained regarding the original function of the rubble stone masonry ruin in the northeast direction of the monastery. However, it is considered that it may have been used as a “hermitage house (cilehane)” within the monastic complex, a place separate from the main building where monks and priests voluntarily isolated themselves. The rectangular structure extends in the east-west direction, and very little of its original structure has remained to the present day. Today, the general condition of this ruined building is in the form of rubble stone blocks and a pile of soil.

The monastery was constructed on a hill situated on a natural rocky plateau. Limestone, a common local material in the region, was used in the construction, with no trace of any other material in its original state. Mud or lime mortar was generally used as a binder, and a masonry structure was built from rubble stones. Walls and vaults are predominantly made of rubble limestone, while cut limestone was utilized in some architectural elements such as doors and windows. The porticoes and arches on the courtyard facade are also constructed of cut limestone. The church was built with cut stone blocks. It is concluded that the monastery spaces were generally covered with barrel vaults, and partially cross vaults or vaults without a distinct shape were used as covering elements.

The facades of the monastery buildings are generally solid and nearly devoid of large openings. The most prominent opening in the Mor Loozor Monastery is the entrance door on the west facade. The windows in the interiors on the upper levels appear as small stone holes on the exterior facade. It was observed that the facades of the interior spaces facing the courtyard contained more openings, with doors and windows positioned in this direction. However, the number and size of the openings on these facades facing the inner courtyard are minimized. The interior spaces are generally dark and inward-looking. The porticoes on the eastern side of the courtyard provide an open space to the courtyard with their arched structure. However, since these spaces open to the courtyard within the monastery, they adhere to the general design principle of inwardness. The rectangular cut stone cornices on the upper levels are almost the only decorative element on the facades. There are two inscriptions on the building, one on the west facade above the entrance door and the other on the west facade of the porticoes on the courtyard side, facing the seclusion tower.

The long neglect, inappropriate interventions, and illegal excavations in search of treasure have caused serious damage to the Mor Lozoor Monastery. Many damages were visible during the observations conducted during the fieldwork. These damage types and the effects on the building were summarised below:

- There are numerous structural and capillary cracks in various locations within the monastery. These cracks can lead to water seepage, dampness issues, structural failure, aesthetic deterioration, insulation problems, and safety hazards. Water infiltration and moisture accumulation resulting from these cracks can cause deterioration of building materials. Moreover, large and deep cracks can weaken the structure and pose a risk of collapse. Additionally, insulation problems and safety risks may arise. Therefore, it is essential to analyze these cracks promptly and carry out necessary rehabilitation and strengthening work.

The failure to preserve and reuse the building has resulted in a growing amount of damage to the building over time. Especially illegal digging activities have inflicted crucial heavy damage to the building. The demolition of a portion of the porticoed section of the building after 2010 can be attributed to the absence of proper conservation and restoration procedures.

When a general evaluation of the monastery site is conducted, there is no information available about any recent archaeological excavations and surveys. The surrounding area was used as agricultural lands belonging to the monastery for an extended period. Although the site still requires archaeological investigation, irregular and uncontrolled changes can be observed in the satellite imagery (Fig. 11). In the 2004 satellite image, there is no construction in the surrounding area of the site. In 2011, several concrete structures were developed on the northern side. In 2016, the most significant change was the construction of a meat-integrated industrial facility approximately 50 meters to the east. Moreover, it can be observed that settlements on the northern side are encroaching closer to the site and new reinforced concrete houses were built in the surrounding area. In 2021, the number of agricultural lands decreased while the number of settlements increased. Uncontrolled development in the vicinity of the site may have led to the destruction of important archaeological values.

Wiessner (1982: 87-93) conducted a field study of this monastery. Forty years later, it is obvious that the monastery is currently more damaged.

- He discussed that the certain uniformity of a large part of the masonry enclosing the courtyard should not lead to the conclusion that all the wall sections and wall courses built from this material can be assigned to a uniform construction period; the material used for these parts of the outer casing is a material that is in a certain sense timeless in the building history of the Tur Abdin from more recent construction periods, which could be used again and again for alterations and extensions. This situation can be currently observed from the differences in the form of the building materials used.

As stated by Wiessner (1982), the building was renovated and intervened in many times. Since the documentation is very inadequate and the same materials are generally used, it is impossible to determine in which periods the additions were made. However, it is thought that the concrete slabs of the building and the roof pavement of the room on the upper floor were built in the 1950s. Wiessner (1982) has already recorded that the local people, in the 1950s, had also reported the first use of reinforced concrete in the region. Therefore, it is thought that the last intervention took place in the 1950s.

Given its historical significance, the Mor Loozor Monastery urgently requires preservation and restoration. Upon examination, it became evident that the porticoed section of the building had recently been demolished, highlighting that need. Consequently, thanks to the fieldwork, the demolished portico section was documented and archived in 2024. During this process, the photogrammetric modeling technique was used (Tab. 1), and by utilizing terrestrial photogrammetry and photographs captured with human-scale cameras, a three-dimensional model of the building was generated. The resulting model serves as a crucial tool for guiding conservation and restoration efforts to mitigate potential future collapses. Had such a modeling study been conducted previously, it could have facilitated the preservation of the original condition of the demolished portico and guided conservation works effectively.

The model-building process involves capturing identifiable photographs during the fieldwork and importing them into the photogrammetry program (Metashape - produced by Agisoft). In the case of the units on the east side of the Mor Loozor Monastery, where the demolished portico section is situated, 19 photographs were taken using a smartphone camera. The program identified the photographs and generated the photogrammetric model. Metashape provides the capability to export the three-dimensional mesh model in different formats. In this study, following the generation of the mesh model, the model was exported as an object (.obj format), and the original state of the building's porticoed area was modeled. The intention was to underscore the potential for creating a representation of the demolished portico area. This process demonstrates that highly detailed data can be obtained from the photogrammetric model for use in conservation-restoration studies and before interventions on the building (Bekar and Kutlu, 2024). The advantages of the photogrammetric model data obtained in the study are summarized below:

- The model can be exported to computer-aided design (CAD) programs in two dimensions, allowing for the creation of current survey drawings of the building. Traditional techniques may be inadequate, particularly for heavily damaged or partially demolished buildings such as the Mor Loozor Monastery. While laser scanning has been utilized for numerous years, acquiring a three-dimensional measured digital model, achievable via smartphones, significantly accelerates and facilitates the process.