The Deyrulzafaran Monastery in Tur Abdin Region (Mardin Province) (AD 493)

The yellow-stoned Deyrulzafaran (Saffron) Monastery was built around 493 and is located about four miles (6 km) southeast of Mar- din, in the Tur Abdin region. The three-story monastery is open today and has a church inside. It was the patriarchal seat of the Jacobite or Syraic Orthodox Church from 1160 to 1932. The patriarch now lives in Damascus, Syria.