Mardin is expanding from the hilltop ridge towards the Mesopotamia plains. This mystic city are still hosting several religions, orders and traditional blends with a rich history at the present modern times.
Mardin’s history traces back to the Subar tribes who lived in the Mesopotamian plains around 4000 BC. Marida is the first old given name of Mardin. During the Ottoman Empire years, this city is important regional county belonging to Diyarbakır. The Syriac name of the town was Marde, but the Arabs and Turks call it, Mardin. Being on the historical Silk Road, Mardin hosts many monasteries, inns, Caravanserai, mosques, shrines and churches. In Mardin and its all surroundings area, there are lot of the amazing stone-made monumental buildings to explore.
To me, the highlights of Mardin, they are all scattered around the Tur Abdin region. Some native people of the Tur Abidin are still speaking the living Aramaic language which is spoken by Jesus Christ in those earlier Christian years as well.
This mystic and cultural landscape offers countless aspects of beauty! The Monastery of Deyrul Zafaran was used as a sun temple in the past. Later it was used as a fortress during the Roman invasion. The Mor Sobo Cathedral served as a meeting place for the metropolitan bishops for many centuries. Still there are many more to be discovered in this mysterious and captivating regions of Mardin & Midyat.