Mardin, Turkey

Mardin in kind of an anomaly in Southeastern Turkey. That is because it is the only place that remotely has a tourism industry. In fact, I think that I saw two other non-Turkish people while I was there! However, Mardin is also the most overrated city in the Southeast. I don't think that it lives up to the hype. I think that Lonely Planet, among many others, has been whoring it out for too long and it has lost some of its charm. There are no reasonably priced hotels, and the old streets here didn't hold a candle to the charm and hospitality of Sanliurfa's old streets. But to be fair, we were there on a Sunday, and there simply wasn't anything open. That can have an effect on how one experiences a place.

This is the post office. Probably the most beautiful post office in Turkey.

Post office doorway. Mardin's claim to fame is the intricate rock work on its buildings and its hillside location (more on that later). However for my money, the large system of markets and the Turkish bath are the highlights.

Obviously, this is part of the Market. It stays dark and cool no matter what the weather is. That's not an accident. It gets very, very hot here.


One of the cool things about Mardin is all the old Christian Churches that are here. There are still some Syriac Christians here, but there used to be hundreds of thousands. As a Christian visitor, I mourn the fact that there is not more of this culture here for me to visit and connect my own faith with.


Usually this market would be open, but on Sunday morning not much is happening.

Dad and I met these guys as they were sitting on the hill above the city enjoying some afternoon beers.


We sat and chatted for awhile. One of the guys gave me some prayer beads to remember him by.




On Saturday night this market was extremely busy with people hurrying about and the sellers all shouting out their prices. I think that people were buying fresh produce at the last second before the market closed all day on Sunday.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip! I just love the perspective. Donkeys are one of the main forms of transportation in a place that has such steep narrow streets.


This is an old Syriac Bible. In this part of the world some people still use Aramaic, the same language that Jesus spoke! By the way, that's handwritten! I bet you haven't seen a handwritten Bible before.