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Old town
Mardin
GAP
Priority Stop
CultureMardin Old Town is a monumental protected urban site cascading in stepped terraces down the southern slope of the rocky ridge crowned by Mardin Castle, built almost entirely of local honey-coloured limestone and facing the boundless Mesopotamian plain.
History & Architecture
Its fabric was largely shaped during the Artuqid period, when from 1103 until the 15th century Mardin served as a dynastic capital; madrasas, mosques, churches and two- and three-storey stone mansions were all worked from the same limestone to form a unified skyline. Monumental portals of Anatolian Seljuk character, muqarnas niches and fine stone carving are the signatures of this era. Throughout its history the city was a multicultural centre where Syriac, Arab, Kurdish, Armenian and Turkish communities lived side by side, so that mosque minarets and church bell towers share a single panorama and give Mardin its distinctive identity. In 2000 Turkey's Ministry of Culture placed the Mardin Cultural Landscape on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, and the old town is safeguarded as a registered conservation area. The buildings suffered no structural damage in the 2023 earthquakes and the site is fully open to visitors.
Streets, Abbaras and What to See
The only way to explore the old town is on foot; its spine is 1st Street (Cumhuriyet Caddesi), lined with boutique hotels, cafes, coppersmiths and craft shops. The narrow, steep, stair-stepped side lanes and the covered stone tunnels running beneath the mansions, known as abbara, are the most photogenic corners of the city. Agencies treat Mardin as indispensable because a single walking axis delivers the Great Mosque, the Church of the Forty Martyrs (Mor Behnam), the Zinciriye and Kasımiye madrasas, the Mardin Museum and the historic bazaars within tight walking distance, crowned by the sweeping plain panorama from west-facing terraces at sunset.
Visiting, Season and Recommended Route
The average visit to the centre runs four to six hours; a standard guided programme devotes a full first day to the old town and the afternoon to the Deyrulzafaran Monastery 5 km east. The best seasons are spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October), as summers are very hot; peak times are spring and autumn weekends and national holidays. A recommended route begins at Cumhuriyet Square, follows the Mardin Museum, Great Mosque and Church of the Forty Martyrs down to the Coppersmiths' Bazaar, then climbs to the Zinciriye and Kasımiye madrasas, closing the day with golden-hour views from a terrace cafe.
Visit & Logistics
Visit & Logistics- Getting thereThe nearest airport is Mardin Airport (about 20 km); road links run via the Mardin train station and bus terminal. Since the old town is pedestrianised, vehicles are left on the lower levels of 1st Street; the centre is reached by municipal shuttle/dolmuş and taxi, and the whole visit is done on foot.
- ParkingFor private cars, the lower car park on 1st Street and the car parks around Cumhuriyet Square; vehicle access into the old town streets is largely restricted.
- Coach accessTour coaches set passengers down at the drop-off/pick-up points at Cumhuriyet Square / the lower level of 1st Street; coaches cannot enter the narrow upper streets, so the group continues on foot.
- AccessibilityLimited — the old town's steep slopes, stepped streets and cobblestone surfaces make it difficult for wheelchairs; the level sections of 1st Street and some terrace cafes are accessible, but the upper neighbourhoods and abbaras are largely unsuitable for disabled access.
- Photo spotsThe Mesopotamian plain and minaret skyline panorama from west-facing mansion and cafe terraces (golden-hour sunset); the plain view before the domes of the Zinciriye Madrasa; light-and-shadow compositions in the abbara stone tunnels; the stepped stone-mansion fabric of 1st Street and the silhouette of Mardin Castle.
- Suggested routeThe full-day focus of day one: Cumhuriyet Square → Mardin Museum → Great Mosque → Church of the Forty Martyrs → Coppersmiths' Bazaar → Zinciriye and Kasımiye Madrasas; sunset at a terrace cafe. The Deyrulzafaran Monastery is added in the afternoon.
Tours that include this place