5 Nights / 6 Days
Eastern Anatolia & Ancient Kingdoms
5 Nights | 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — honey-colored limestone, Akdamar Island and the haunting ruins of Ani.
Turkey / Other
Deyrulzafaran Monastery
A 5th-century Syriac Orthodox monastery near Mardin, once seat of the patriarchate, with honey-coloured limestone churches, ancient olive groves and underground chambers.
Also part of The Monasteries of Tur Abdin
Deyrulzafaran rises on a hillside southeast of Mardin, its limestone walls catching the light of the Mesopotamian plain below. The monastery takes its name from the saffron that once grew on these slopes — a detail reflected in the golden hues of the stonework. The complex forms a fortified rectangle of honey-coloured limestone, its architecture a palimpsest of centuries. The oldest church dates to the 5th century, built when Syriac monasticism was flourishing across the plains of upper Mesopotamia.
Seat of the Syriac Patriarchate
For several centuries, Deyrulzafaran served as the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate, making it the spiritual centre of one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. The patriarchate relocated here during periods of instability, and the monastery became both a place of worship and ecclesiastical administration. The patriarchal throne room remains intact, together with chambers used for the running of the church. The complex includes a small museum housing manuscripts, vestments and liturgical objects accumulated over centuries of continuous use.
What Visitors See Today
- Three churches connected by internal doorways, each with their own altar and Syriac inscriptions recording benefactors and dates of construction
- Olive and pomegranate trees in the courtyard, some reportedly several hundred years old
- Underground chambers and tombs cut into the hillside rock beneath the monastery
- Ancient water cisterns carved from the limestone bedrock
- The refectory and monks' cells arranged around the central courtyard
A Living Monastery
The monastery remains an active place of worship. Syriac Orthodox services are held here, and the site draws pilgrims as well as visitors interested in the region's religious history. The Syriac language, spoken here since the early centuries of Christianity, continues in daily use. For visitors walking the floors worn smooth by generations of monks and pilgrims, the sense of unbroken continuity is tangible — Deyrulzafaran has not been preserved as a monument but has continued as a living monastic community through periods of change that have reshaped the landscape around it.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Deyrulzafaran Monastery Other
Tours that visit Deyrulzafaran Monastery
8 Nights / 9 Days
From Mesopotamia to the Caucasus
8 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — Göbeklitepe, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
11 Nights / 12 Days
The Ultimate Eastern Turkey Expedition
11 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — fairy chimneys, Mount Nemrut, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
14 Nights / 15 Days
The Ultimate Journey Across Turkey
3 Nights Istanbul | 3 Nights Cappadocia | 1 Night Gaziantep | 1 Night Sanliurfa | 1 Night Diyarbakir | 3 Nights Mardin | 1 Night Van | 1 Night Kars
Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
