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I don’t know the real name of this place in the southeastern part of Turkey near Mardin. I couldn’t find any information about it in any tourist guide book. One man in Internet called this place “Anır kalesi” (“Anır fortress”) but it looks like abandoned ancient Assyrian monastery.
This monastery is located on the top of the ridge near functioning Deyrulzafaran Monastery. From the territory of the latter you can see some caves and ruins but most of the buildings related to the “Anır kalesi” are placed behind the mountains.
There is no good road to the monastery on the top. If your car is able to drive offroad you can try to get there by bumpy mountain spiral road. In another case you should find an alpine path and climb to the mountain.
Unfortunately it was very hard to find any information about this place. Even locals say different and strange things. Nobody can say who and when built the monastery, and when it was abandoned.
One girl from Mardin said to me that in 1980th there was probably the robbers hide-out and this bandits killed some of her relatives. However at the present time this place is completely safe and you can visit it without any problems.
Another Assyrian guy that works in Izla Art Cafe (Süryani Kültür Merkezi) in Mardin said that place I called before “Anır kalesı” really was a monastery in the past. And there was at least three Assyrian churches. But he had never been there.
