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Buy/gift a digital subscription Login to the Digital EditionMardin can only be compared to such cities as Granada and Fez, filled with the palaces of merchants, studded with university colleges, guarded by mountains and fed by their springs. Text by Barnaby Rogerson, photographs by Monica Fritz
The view south from Mardin is so bewitching, so conducive to idle observation, so vast in the sweep of landscape, so rich in the elemental forces of history, that the alleys of the city have to turn their back on it, in order to get on with the business of life. Three narrow veins of commerce, linked by courtyards and staircases and lined with stalls, animated workshops and cafés, thread their shady passage through its mellow, golden stone. After a week, I had just enough time to create a map of walked experience, though there were ravishing buildings that I had once stumbled upon by chance and could never find again…
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TRAVEL NOTES WITH LINKS
Where to stay
Two Mardin house-turned-hotels are the Ulubey Konağı, where Barnaby Rogerson and his party spent lots of time on the terrace in the evenings – do insist on one of the three large room on the entrance floor – and the pricey new Arura Mardin. (Neither hotel, astonishingly, offers an English-language website.) The Hilton Garden Inn Mardin is on the edge of the new city down the hill (see view below), a cheap taxi ride away from the old city. Nice to come back to after a dusty day out but a bit more inconvenient for a siesta.
Airbnbs are a good alternative. There are many but check the exact location: some look very near the centre on the map but are several steep staircases up the hill. Worth seeking out is the Meyman Art House Guest House. It is easy to get to, and the host is wonderful.
Where to eat
Mardin is not a town for veggies, which goes for the rest of the region too, but if you avoid the kebab shops you’ll find a diversity of dishes. Our favourite restaurant was [Leyli Muse Mutfak](https://www.instagram.com/leylimusemutfak/) (+90 552 438 04 12) next to the Mardin Museum – lots to choose from and so far never a disappointment. Lunch at the Sultan Sofrası is always a delight. Very fresh food, friendly, well priced and authentic. Ebru Demir’s upmarket Cercis Murat Konağı was the first of its kind in 2000. I remember the excitement of discovering it: a mansion transformed into a restaurant by an enthusiastic all-women team. The authenticity of the dishes could not be beaten. Although it has been enlarged the quality hasn’t suffered. Nearby is the famous Kebapçı Rido – very local, very fresh. Watch them chop and grill as you sit in the little storefront, or eat upstairs on a busy day. The choice is spicy or not. Marangozlar Kahvesi (Carpenters’ Café) is a favourite stop for breakfast, a simple meal or tea and coffee: huge windows and a terrace overlook the plain. It’s easy to miss its back-street entrance – look out for a street painting of Egyptian diva Om Kalthum. Lots of atmosphere and locals of all ages.
Mardin sights
Mardin Museum is the archaeological museum. The Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum focuses on ethnography. In a city famed for medreses, don’t miss the Hatuniye; Kasımiye (a steep 25-min walk); Şehidiye or Zinciriye. Among the famous mosques are the Ulu Cami and the Latifiye. Churches include the Syriac Kırklar Kilisesi (Forty Martyrs) and the Chaldean Catholic Mor Hırmız Kilisesi
Near Mardin
Use local taxis for day trips (we went as far as Diyarbakır). Bargain at the start to get a reasonable price. Don’t miss Roman Dara, 30km southeast of Mardin; the watchtowers of Zerzevan, 52km to the north, or the monasteries of Deyrulzafaran, Mor Gabriel or Mor Yakup. Wonderful places to lunch on a hot day after a visit to Mor Yakup are the restaurants by the Beyazsu stream on the road to Şırnak, 75 mins from Mardin.
Best tip
In the beautiful hill town of Savur, an hour from Mardin, the Hakkı Bey Konağı offers a wonderful alternative to staying in crowded Mardin. The stone mansion has been saved from the cement lords by the grandchildren of Hakkı Sancar, uncle of the Nobel prize winner Aziz Sancar. It is normally closed in the hot months of July and August. The drive is hilly and green, with lots of history and beautiful villages.
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