Mardin Old Town

Mardin is built in honey-coloured limestone down a single steep hillside, and the slope is severe enough that one house's roof is the next street's terrace. Facades are carved with bands of stonework, doorways are arched and deep, and stepped alleys run between courtyards. The Ulu Cami keeps a ribbed minaret from the Artuqid period, and the Zinciriye and Kasimiye medreses hold domed cells, courtyard pools and views over the roofs. In the bazaar coppersmiths still hammer and soap makers still stack blocks. Syriac churches remain in use in the lanes, and the Deyrulzafaran monastery stands a few kilometres east among rock outcrops. From every terrace the Mesopotamian plain runs flat to the horizon.

What you actually see

• The Kasimiye Medrese - domed cells, a courtyard pool and the plain beyond.
• The Ulu Cami minaret - the ribbed Artuqid tower above the old roofs.
• The bazaar lanes - coppersmiths, soap makers and loaded donkeys.
• Deyrulzafaran monastery - the Syriac monastery in the rocks east of town.

When to go

Spring and autumn; summer here is severe, regularly over forty degrees with almost no shade in the alleys, and even locals move indoors at midday. Evenings on the terraces are the best hours. Weekends fill the main street with domestic visitors, so a weekday night in a stone guesthouse is worth arranging.

Honest expectations

The old town is a staircase, and vehicles cannot reach most of it, so luggage is carried or barrowed - pack light. The main street has thickened with cafes and souvenir shops in recent years. The monastery keeps limited hours and closes for services, and some churches open only when someone is there to unlock them.

Nearby

The Midyat stone houses and the Tur Abdin plateau villages to the east.