After exploring the Medieval Old Town of Mardin, we discovered three other nearby sites with equally fascinating histories. Old Town Midyat, Deyrülzafaran Monastery and the ancient ruins of Dara make great day trips when you’re visiting the city of Mardin in Eastern Turkey.
Midyat
In Mardin we visited a few historical Syriac Orthodox Churches so were interested in exploring the nearby city of Midyat to learn more about their history. Situated on the edge of the Mesopotamian Plain, is the hilly region called Tur ʿAbdin. In 451 AD, the Syriac Orthodox Church separated from the Byzantine Church. To avoid persecution Orthodox parishioners sought refuge in these hills. One of the cities they settled in was Midyat.
From that time until the beginning of the 20th century there was a large population of Syriac Orthodox Christians living and worshipping in and around Midyat. During World War I, Ottoman rulers massacred hundreds of thousand of Syriac Christians. In the ensuing years they continued to suffer from persecution resulting in many emigrating from Turkey. Today the population of Syriac Orthodox in this region is very small, but there are still enough to continue to worship and maintain a few historic churches.
Scattered throughout Old Town Midyat we found a few of these Syriac churches. Many were originally built in the 4 – 6th centuries and have been restored. Unfortunately when we tried to visit them, they were all closed. At most we were only able to see their bell towers poking above their tall exterior stone walls. We found that to be the case in many Christian buildings that we visited in this part of Turkey.
Note – The Turkish word for church is Kilisesi.
Just outside of the city is the 5th century Abraham Monastery. It’s surrounded by olive and almond trees as well as grape vines giving it a very scenic setting. We were able to get through the gates of the outer courtyard, but the rest of the monastery was closed.
In addition to the Syriac Orthodox Churches, the Old Town in Midyat a treasure trove of heritage limestone buildings. The maze of narrow cobble stone streets make it easy to get lost though. We often thought we could find our way to a building we saw in the distance. Every time we set off in toward it, the street meandered off in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, Google Maps doesn’t know these narrow lanes very well. We spent a lot of time wandering, but, at least it is a fantastic setting in which to get lost.
Getting to Midyat
A minibus (dolma) leaves for Midyat from Mardin bus depot (otogar) several times a day for 70 TRY ($2.30 USD). Another option is to take a full-day tour. They are available from many tour shops in Mardin and include Midyat and Dara for 500 TRY ($17 USD) per person. We didn’t fund this out until after we went to Midyat on our own. Unless you have your own car, it would be cheaper and a little easier to go on a tour.
Deyrülzafaran Monastery
Also known as Mor Hananyo Monastery, Deyrülzafaran Monastery is a 5th century Syriac Orthodox Christian monastery. Originally built in 493 AD, the monastery was restored in 1160 when the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch was forced to flee Antioch (modern day Antakya, Turkey) due to persecution. The monastery served as the primary residence for the Patriarch until WWI when many Syriacs were executed.
As we approached the monastery it was a little difficult to see because it is set in the middle of an olive grove. These trees gave it an even better setting than Abraham Monastery in Midyat.
We entered the gates of the tall stone wall and walked into a large courtyard. Like the grounds outside, there were more olive trees in the courtyard. Surrounding the open area are many old wooden doors. They lead to two churches, a burial chamber and several residential rooms. Some of the doors and windows are decorated with delicate carvings in their stone frames.
One of the doors opens into Church of Saint Ananias. This sanctuary is one of the only places in the world where the liturgical worship is held in Aramaic, the language that was spoken by Jesus. Inside, the small sanctuary has an elegantly carved limestone altar. On either side are 400 and 500 year old walnut chairs for the priests.
Beside it is the smaller Church of Saint Mary. This stone room is used mostly for baptisms and ceremonies. A pair of palanquins that would have been used to transport church officials are on display in the back of the church.
A very old looking room is called the Graves Room. It has this name because it holds the graves of 52 patriarchs. Their bodies are seated in chairs and positioned to the east because they believe Christ will return to earth from the east.
Underneath these rooms is the oldest part of the monastery. At 4,000 years old, the Sun Temple in the basement predates Christianity. Early inhabitants of this area worshipped the sun and this was their temple. The room has a low ceiling made with stone blocks and was built without mortar. Instead, the stones are wedged in from each side so that the joints become tighter as the ceiling settles.
Entrance Fee – 50 TRY ($1.75 USD) and includes a guided tour. Opening Hours 9-12, 1- 5. You can only visit the monastery on a tour and they begin on the hour.
Getting to Deyrülzafaran Monastery
Located 8 km from Old Town Mardin, you can visit the monastery on your own by taking a taxi. The monastery is included in some tours from Mardin.
When driving through the arid lands between Mardin, Midyat and Deyrülzafaran Monastery, we passed many orchards filled with olive, almond, fig and pomegranate trees as well as grape vines. Even though the ground looked very dry it must be the perfect climate for them.
Dara
The dry hills of Mardin drop off suddenly onto the flat, fertile plains of Mesopotamia. As we drove across the prairie toward the site of Dara, all we could see on either side of the road were farmer’s fields growing crops, mostly corn.
The ancient site of Dara has a history dating back to the 3rd century BCE. It wasn’t until the Byzantines arrived though, that it became an important fortified settlement. Not much was known about this area until archeologists began excavating in the 1980s. What they uncovered was an impressive 6th century AD necropolis with hundreds of rock-cut tombs. In the pictures below you can see the lines embedded in the rock from the layers of soil that covered these tombs for centuries.
People in this area had already converted to Christianity, but they maintained many of their pagan beliefs and customs. One that continued was their worship of the god Mithras who they believe was born out of rock. To honour this god, they put their deceased to rest in rock-cut tombs.
The real fascination comes from looking along the cliff and seeing dozens of openings that lead to the tombs. When you enter the tombs they have the same appearance as small caves, then you realize that these tombs are all man-made. They were hand carved into the dense rock. It’s quite fascinating to think how much work was put into this necropolis over a thousand years ago. Apparently, when they were being built, the stone material that was removed was used to build the village.
The necropolis also has 6-8th century sarcophagi and 14th century cist tombs.
One section of this necropolis stands out from the rest. It is the large three-story chamber that was carved out of the bedrock. The entrance to it is decorated with beautiful carvings. Inside, you can walk on a glass floor to see the three levels of graves.
Even though the land had been inhabited for hundreds of years already, it wasn’t until Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I arrived that a walled city was established. Dara is located near Turkey’s border with Syria and even in the 6thcentury, it was disputed territory. When Byzantine Emperor Justinian was leader a few years later, he ordered cisterns and canals to be built. Water came down from the hills, 65 km away and was channeled through canals into a number of cisterns dug deep into the bedrock. This allowed them to survive inside the walls of the city even when invaders thought they had cut off their water supplies. Other than the necropolis, exploring these cisterns was the most interesting part of Dara.
Sarnıç Zindan is a cistern that was built about 18 m underground. From the outside you wouldn’t know what’s hidden below the ground. To enter we had to climb down an inconspicuous looking long, dark staircase that brought us to a great surprise. The cistern is a large stone room with tall pillars that reach up to the stone ceiling high above. At first we thought it was not as impressive as Istanbul’s Basilica Cistern, but then we realized that this gorgeous site, is almost 6 m higher than the one in Istanbul.
Castellum Aqua (Maksem) is another Byzantine cistern, but it is mostly in ruin. The lack of roof though allows you to look down the length of the 50 m long parallel, barrel vaults.
In the surrounding cliffs you can see more hints of Dara’s ancient history, but not a lot has been uncovered. Apparently only 10% of the city has been excavated to date so it will likely be a very impressive site in years to come.
By the 13th century Dara was mostly abandoned. The current town of Oğuz was built over much of the remains of this ancient city.
Entrance is free to all sites in Dara. Opening Hours – 9am -12pm and 1pm-6pm
Getting to Dara
If you don’t have your own car, a taxi to Dara and return (2 hours) is 900 TRY ($30 USD). We hired a taxi and after visiting Dara we paid an extra 300 TRY ($10 USD) to take us to the monastery. An easier option is to join a full-day tours in Mardin that includes Midyat and Dara for 500 TRY ($17 USD).
Note – Dara is very close to the Syrian border and at times travel to Dara may not be allowed. if the road is open make sure to bring your passport as you may be stopped at a police checkpoint.
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Coming Next – Göbekli Tepe – An Ancient Wonder
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