Mor Hananyo Monastery in Nusaybin

Amazing and must see place of Mardin

We had to wait 25 minutes to be let in since they only allow you to enter with guides. This creates a lot of congestion and a very crowded visiting experience. For non Turkish speakers you don’t gain any benefit of the guide explanations and only receive the drawbacks of the crowd. They don’t allow you to break off from the group and visit other sections of the monastery.

Amazing!

All existing Assyrian monasteries are active in Mardin. Historical treasures of the Türkiye. Entrance fee is 15Tl.

Beautiful but not much to visit. However its nice that they provide guided tour for the 4 rooms.

Exciting building that is standing for thousands of years.

very relaxing

The beauty highlighted in the stone that has stood the test of time and illuminated by the sun will definitely remind you of a golden stone. Here you can see the pagan temple of sacrifice, Assyrian monastery. With a beautiful inner courtyard and a fountain of life.

WOW!!!

Unfortunately we were a bit late that we cant get in

Wonderful place, it is not allowed to visit upper layers

Very informative and ancient. Guides are available to explain everything. You have to request them for English explanation.

Very well preserved Assyrian monastery.

It is a really nice architecture but nothing much to see except for the building and its praying rooms, everything else is closed to tourists. It takes about 20min max time to see everything, but we had to wait 20min to get into it.

The monastery was interesting enough, I would not go out of my way to go see it. Some interesting pictures.3btraveler

While a nice monastery to visit, much was off limits and we felt they spent more effort trying to sell souvenirs. Worth buying some local wine though.

Good

Well Guided tour, highly recommended

A must see historical landmark with a beautiful architecture typical to the region

Mind blowing architecture.. Authentic Syriac Orthodox style, Saffron coloured beauty, Church and courtyard with a well are outstanding.. A must see... Gem of Mardin..

The monastery is well worth the visit. If you have the chance then speak to father Gabriel who is a lovely old man. Be sure to visit both prayer rooms, new and old.

Well guided tours and welcoming staff at this religious site.

Impressive building ....

The monastery itself is amazing and super interesting. The problem is that you can see it only with an organised tour and the guide doesnt speak English. The tour is very brief, just about 20 minutes so you are not able to understand and feel the place properly. There are no signs or explanations in English too. Definitely they should think how to organise the excursions better

I am so happy that this monastery is not ignored and being cared by its community very well. The monastery is very serene and beautiful, there is an entrance fee and you are being briefly informed by Syriac guys about its history. Many parts are closed for visitors and I guess it is because of its current use, it is still being used as a worship centre. The garden is well designed and the location is about half an hour from Mardin city centre. It is certainly worth seeing.

Very Beautiful and Serene

The most important temple for Syriacs. It has got a mystical atmosphere. The temple is almost thousand years old and still provide religious education. There is a guidance for you interesting information about this authentic temple. You should visit there one time in your life. I’m sure it worth it

It’s a beautiful place and it even has a guide telling the history of the place. After parked your car, you’re walking on a green road and it’s so peacefully. This place should be visited.

The best way to come here is to take taxi from Mardin and to return after half hour

Dear readers,A very interesting historical site, that day I went with a group of people unfortunately the guide told in Turkish, fortunately someone translated it into English. I recommend you a lot to visit this elegant place.

Deyrulzafaran Monastery is one of the most significant centers of the Assyrian Church besides its magnificent architecture. It is situated in about 5 km from the old part of Mardin in Tur Abdin plateau located in the southeast of Turkey. According to chronicles, the monastery was founded in the 5th century AD, when the first church was built there.The Monastery was constructed on a complex which had been used as a Sun Temple before Christ and was then used as a fortress at the time of Roman Empire. When Romans left the region, Saint Shleymun broucht the bones of some saints here. He converted the castle into a monastery. For this reason, Deyrulzafaran Monastery was first known as Mor Shleymun Monastery.After the modifications made by Mardin and Kefertuth Metropolitan Saint Hananyo starting from 793, it was known as Mor Hananyo Monastery. After 15th century it has been called as Deyrulzafaran which means “Saffron Monastery” because of saffron plants growing around the monastery. For long years the monastery was one of the religious education centers of the Syrian Church.The church was built by Syrian architects Theodosius and Theodore brothers between 491-518 AD, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus. The width of the church is 12.3 meters, the height of it is 17.7 meters and the area of it is 271 square meters. This church is also called as the Domed Church, since the dome of it is like a cross. Various animal motifs on the outer frieze of the church attract attention.On the inner walls of the church, there were frescos that depicted the stories in holy book, but only one of one has survived until now. This fresco illustrates Saint Hananyo who had the monastery restored in 793. The religious service platform in the abscissas at the north and south of the church are wooden and were constructed in 1699. The wooden felictious service platform at the middle abscissa burnt in 1941 and only two columns have survived.It is understood from the Syrian writing on the columns that the abscissa was made by Niardin and Kefertuth Metropolitan Saint Hananyo in 793. The stone religious service platform that still survives was made by Syrian stone masters from Mardin and Midyat using yellow and cut stones in 1942. There are two attractive rostrums at the main abscissa part.The rostrum at the left of the main abscissa is made of walnut tree and it is predicted to be 350 years old. This rostrum is used by the patriarchs. The rostrum at the right hand side belongs to metropolitans, it is made of tush and is predicted to be 500 years old. On the outer surface of the door, a poem of Saint Balay in Syrian and a small part of Prophet David’s psalms are written.

historic and mistic place to visit

FanasticSteeped with ancient history

A big monastery, perfect piece of architectural design

Interesting, but difficult to appreciate with so many visitors

Historical Monastery

Beautiful surroundings, monchs cultivate olives trees. You can buy their oil at the shops at the entrance. Its quite turistic (most domestic turismguided tour provided, only in turkish. The monastery conservs some beautiful and original edges, but it has been quitly renovated. Very beautiful entrance.

Im an old friend of the monastery, so Imhappily biased.

It makes feel like 1000 years back in time, even the coffee, tea there have a different tasts, they are like something from the past, could it be the sensation that the place itself gives to you?

Pretty impressive but most is blocked off. Bird sure its worth the drive just to see the courtyard and 1 room?

Well kept since years...a monastery since from times that people pray on sun

Magnificent monastery, still in use. Very friendly and wise guides. Thank you for letting us to visit the place.

A must visit place just 10 minutes away from Mardin old town. Its an active monastery so you can visit inside at specific times with a guide. Special thanks to Afram for the information he provided during our visit.

Though the Deyrulzafaran Monastery is a short bus ride away from Mardin, it is a world away. Tucked behind the beautifully crafted gates, is a fertile green land, kept immaculately groomed by the staff living on site. This is an active Monastery - with services held every Sunday. Though a Holy site for centuries, the facility is open for tourists to experience. They have tours that run approx. 30 min. and often, the tours are packed, so there is ample space to wait at the Cafe near the entrance. This cafe sells local spiced coffees ( with Cardamom, Cinnamon and other healing herbs), and a selection of teas. The Saffron tea is a local favorite, as is the Ceylon black version. They also had ample snacks and cold beverages. The gift shop, though low stocked, offered items that we did not see anywhere else in the vicinity. The tour guides offered options in English, Spanish, Turkish and local dialect. The first printing press of Anatolia is housed in this Monastery. Do make the trip over, you wont be disappointed.

To find such a fabulous facility of christian religion in a dominantly muslim country, was so impressive.

Very nice place.

Beautiful spot. As the monastery is active much of the complex is closed but the grounds are beautiful and the history incredibly deep

It was a quick 30-minute guided tour + a nice cafe serving saffron tea. Not even a half-day trip from Mardin.

Nothing really interesting, just a bunch of old stones and the guides more interested in moving people on.Hard to enjoy whne they is pressure keep going

Worth visiting but dont try to get there using buses as it is a long walk. Instead negotiate a fee with the taxi drivers for a return journey.