Experience the best of Mardin

Mardin climbs a rocky hill in south-eastern Turkey, with the flat Mesopotamian plain stretching south towards Syria far below. Its honey-coloured limestone houses rise in terraces above narrow vaulted lanes and stairways, in a town long shared by Arabs, Kurds, Turks and Syriac Christians. The Grand Mosque, the Kasimiye Madrasa with its terraces and the 14th-century Zinciriye Madrasa are the main landmarks of the old town.

Beyond the city, Deyrulzafaran Monastery, also called the Saffron Monastery, stands in the hills a few kilometres to the east and was for centuries the seat of the Syriac Orthodox patriarchs. Midyat and the Tur Abdin plateau further east hold stone villages and ancient Syriac monasteries, including Mor Gabriel, founded in the 4th century. The ruins of the Byzantine frontier city of Dara lie to the south-east on the edge of the plain.

Mardin cooking has Arab and Syriac roots, with kibbeh, called içli köfte, spiced lentil soups and sweets made with almonds and pistachios. Syriac Christian winemakers in the area still make local wine, and strong menengiç coffee is brewed from terebinth nuts. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, summers are very hot on the plain, and winter days can be cold, with occasional snow.