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Mardin’s Saffron Sanctuary: DEYRULZAFARAN 
We are very excited because we are going to see the Deyrulzafaran Monastery, erected in Anatolia some 1600 years ago. Our trip from Ankara to the monastery--which resembles a medieval building erected in the middle of a steppe--located four or five kilometers from the province of Mardin, took us two and a half hours. This included the plane trip, time to rent a car and the short drive there. We look from a distance at this saffron-colored, majestic building and try to imagine the priests and seminarians who have led a life unchanged over hundreds of years within it. Photographs taken by explorer and wild nature photographer Süha Derbent serve as our guide. We are impatient to get here early in the morning, before the sun rises, in order to enter the monastery. But it does not matter, because the day is long and there is a lot to do in Mardin.
The Deyrulzafaran Monastery, built at a distance of four to five kilometers from the province of Mardin, continues to be an important center for Syriac Christians and to welcome guests with its surreal atmosphere. Constructed on one of the first sanctuaries ever built in Mesopotamia, the monastery has been in use as a place of worship for 1600 years. The Deyrulzafaran Monastery resembles a medieval building erected in the middle of a steppe. Priests and seminarians living in it lead a life that has remained unchanged for hundreds of years… The stone walls of the monastery that were once saffron-colored have now changed color because of all the dust and soil that have accumulated on them over the centuries. The color of saffron derives its name from the saffron flowers that used to bloom on these mountains centuries ago. That is probably why saffron flowers were used in the plaster of the Deyrulzafaran during its construction; so that the walls of the monastery would acquire this color. Saffron flowers gave the Deyrulzafaran Monastery its color, but they have disappeared from these plains and mountains. Now saffron is valued like gold in this area because it is nowhere to be found. The stone reliefs of animals on the walls surrounding the monastery depict the animals taken into Noah’s ark. This feature of the monastery makes it look like a ship in the midst of a buff-coloured sea. This community, which keeps the walls of the monastery between themselves and the world, believes that life can become meaningful through worship and education. İbrahim Türker, high priest of the monastery, laughs when he says, “To you it must seem like we’re living in the Middle Ages, right?” 
The story of Deyrulzafaran İbrahim Türker tells us the story of Deyrulzafaran: “About 1600 years ago, people who worshipped the sun sought a place where they could set up a temple. They wanted to build a temple before which the whole plain of Mesopotamia would extend and which would disappear among the mountains…” They therefore built their temple at a distance of four kilometres from Mardin. The first owners of Deyrulzafaran were therefore sun worshippers. At that time Deyrulzafaran was not such a big structure, it was constructed as a smallish underground temple. It acquired its present shape later on, during the Christian period. Deyrulzafaran was the second Christian church built in Anatolia. The first church, built in Antioch, was abandoned when its community migrated to Mardin as a result of Byzantine raids. The Patriarch of the time, Mar Dionysius VIII, came to Deyrulzafaran and set up his patriarchate here. The Deyrulzafaran Monastery is the most important for Syriac Christians living in the south east of Turkey. It was acknowledged as the center of all patriarchates between 1116 and 1932. Syriac Christians in Southeast Anatolia--and actually all over Turkey--still prefer to celebrate weddings and hold funerals in this monastery. Local legend has it that scorpions swarming on the walls of Deyrulzafaran, in its rooms of worship and corridors, instantly killed the people they stung but never touched the priests. As long as the priests believe this… Indeed, children who sleep on the roof of the monastery during the summer have never been stung by scorpions. But they enjoy frightening guests….  An ordinary day in Deyrulzafaran The day in Deyrulzafaran begins at 04:30 with preparations for prayer, which begins when the sun rises in the sky, announcing that it will be another day of sweltering heat. The smell of incense rising from the censers, the ceremonial attire of the priests, the austerity of the children and the dark red color of the part of the church where worship takes place cast a spell on everyone. The style of worship of Syriac Christians resembles that of Muslims and though this is found surprising by Muslims, it is actually known as “namaz.” Worship lasts one hour. All the children gather in the kitchen, with the priests, and heartily eat a very modest breakfast consisting of bread, olives and olive oil. Following breakfast the day’s activities begin. High priest İbrahim Türker generally welcomes guests, because the Deyrulzafaran Monastery receives guests every day. While Türker attends to the guests, the second priest Gabriel teaches the Bible to the seminarians. These lessons last about one hour and then it’s time for cleaning. Water is drawn from the well in the monastery courtyard, the whole place is cleaned and then preparations begin for lunch. Within this routine there are another six prayer times until the evening. The situation is different only when there are weddings, funerals and baptisms. On those days everything changes for the modest inhabitants of the monastery. The priests don a more heavily adorned attire. Seminarians and priests perform their worship together with the guests and then they eat delicious food, also receiving news from the outside world. High priest İbrahim Türker, who commands great respect, especially from the seminarians in the monastery, is paid respect by the Syriac community too. Sometimes, apart from the daily work of the monastery, he also solves problems between husbands and wives. In fact, there is no divorce among Syriac Christians. They believe that once somebody has found one’s spouse this cannot change. Even when this situation may sometimes create difficulties between them… Syriac Christians in the Deyrulzafaran Monastery live in contemporary Turkey, but they lead a very different life. Or rather, it does not matter where they live, because they are happy with their lives intertwined with worship, behind the stone walls of the monastery. They enjoy being remembered and receiving visits from time to time… If one day you feel that you wish to spend a day away from the present, in the distant past, the Deyrulzafaran Monastery and İbrahim Türker will lovingly welcome you…  Editor: Füsun Saka Photographer: Süha Derbent - Sinan Kesgin - istockphoto.com |
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FLIGHT-CARD | ANATOLIA | story- | monastery | Mardin | Saffron-Sanctuary | Deyrulzafaran |