Mardin
Mardin is a province of Turkey located in the Southeastern part of the country, approximately 100 km to the south of Diyarbakir. Mardin is an Aramaic (the language that Jesus spoke) word and means "fortresses". Overlooking the famous Mesopotamian Plain, the city has two parts, the new and old Mardin. Mardin encircles a buttress-like fortress with narrow streets and old buildings; mosques, medreses (university in Arabic), homes, and a hidden monastery. The population of about 70,000 of Mardin is composed of Arabs, Turks and Kurds.
Mardin is an ancient city, though very little is known from pre-Roman times. During the Roman dominance Mardin was called Marida, a fortress was built on the hill overlooking the city. In 1516 Mardin fell to the Ottomans and was under Ottoman control until the foundation of the Turkish Republic.
Old Mardin, which is especially a famous touristic attraction, has old style carved houses on a hill. Old Mardin is located in a volcanic area where the basic input used in local architecture is the rather easily workable calcareous rock. Houses in Old Mardin reflects all features of a closed life style. Most houses of Old Mardin are surrounded by 3 meters high walls and isolated from the narrow streets. These walls serve to provide protection from harsh climatic conditions of the region.
One of the most important places to visit in Mardin is the Saffron Monastery (Deyrul Zafaran), 6 km to the east of Mardin. This location was a holy place even before Christianity. The Saffron Monastery was built on 495 AD. Some of its existing floor mosaics are about 1,500 years old. The Saffron Monastery is one of the earliest Christian churches in the world.
Other interesting buildings of Mardin are the medieval Sultan Isa Medresesi (1385), Kasim Pasha Medresesi (1400s), the Ulu Cami (Great Mosque, 1000s), and a covered bazaar.
Another must-see in the Mardin region is the Hasankeyf antic city. Hasankeyf is located about 60 km. northeast of Mardin. At Hasankeyf you can see the ruins of the ancient 12th century capital of the Artutids. The Hasankeyf bridge which once connected the two parts of the antic city over the Tigris (Dicle) river and the palace are other important locations to see. Unfortunately Hasankefy will be completely flooded after the completion of the GAP dam project of Turkey. On the way to Hasankeyf, Midyat, is famous for its silver objects known as 'telkari'. Midyat has many elegant, and historic houses. 18 kilometers east of Midyat is the actively functioning Syriac Jacobite San Gabriel (Deyrelumur) monastery. San Gabriel monastery dates back to the beginning of the fifth century.