Mardin, Turkey
The old city of Mardin
Mardin, Turkey Location of Mardin within Turkey.
Coordinates: 37°19′0″N 40°44′16″E / 37.31667°N 40.73778°E / 37.31667; 40.73778Coordinates: 37°19′0″N 40°44′16″E / 37.31667°N 40.73778°E / 37.31667; 40.73778
Country	Turkey
Region	Southeastern Anatolia
Province	Mardin
Government
• Mayor	Süleyman Yıldız
Area[1]
• District	969.06 km2 (374.16 sq mi)
Elevation	1,083 m (3,553 ft)
Population (2012)[2]
• Urban	86,948
• District	139,254
• District Density	Bad rounding here140/km2 (Bad rounding here370/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	47x xx
Area code(s)	0482
Licence plate	47
Website	Mardinimiz.net

Mardin (Ottoman Turkish: ماردين, Mardīn, Kurdish: Mêrdîn, Arabic: ماردين‎, Classical Syriac: ܡܪܕܝܢ‎) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid (Artıklı or Artuklu in Turkish) architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris River that rises steeply over the flat plains.^[3]

History [edit]

Men in Mardin, around 1900

Mardin is one of the oldest settled areas in upper Mesopotamia. Excavations done in the 1920s discovered remains in the area that dated to 4000 BCE. The first known civilization were the Subarians who were then succeeded in 3000BCE by the Hurrians. The Elamites gained control around 2230 BCE. and were followed by the Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Romans and Byzantines.

In 692, the Muslim Ummayads arrived and introduced Islam. The Abbasid Caliphate based in Baghdad replaced them in 824. Factions of the Seljuk Turks fought each other over Mardin as it changed hands many times before it was finally taken by Nahm ad-din Ilghazi, the bey of the Artukids, a Turkish dynasty founded by the Seljuk Emir Artuk. During the Artukid period, many of Mardin's historic buildings were constructed, including several Mosques, Palaces, Madrassas and Hans.

The lands of the Artukid dynasty fell to the Mongols sometime between 1235 and 1243, but the Mongols never directly governed the area. The Artukid family ruling Mardin became vassal state of the Mongol Empire.^[4] During the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, the Artuqid (Artık) ruler revolted against the Mongol rule. Hulegu's general and Chupan's ancestor, Koke-Ilge of the Jalayir, stormed the city and Hulegu appointed the rebel's son, al-Nasir, governor of Mardin. Although, Hulegu suspected the latter's loyalty for a while, thereafter the Artukids remained loyal unlike nomadic Bedoun and Kurd tribes in the south western frontier. The Mongol Ilkhanids considered them important allies. For this loyalty they shown, Artukids were given more lands in 1298 and 1304. Mardin later passed to the Akkoyunlu, a federation of Turkic tribes that controlled territory all the way to the Caspian Sea. In 1517, Mardin was annexed by the Ottomans under Selim the Grim. During this time, Mardin was administered by a governor directly appointed under the Ottoman Sultan's authority. In 1923, with the founding of the Republic of Turkey, Mardin was made the administrative capital of a province named after it.

Historical landmarks [edit]

The Great Mosque of Mardin

Mardin has often been considered an open air museum due to its historical architecture. Most buildings use the beige colored limestone rock which has been mined for centuries in quarries around the area.

Mosques [edit]

• Great Mosque (Ulu Camii) - Constructed in the 12th century by the ruler of the Artukid Turks, Qutb ad-din Ilghazi. It has a ribbed dome and a minaret that soars above the city. There were originally two minarets, but one collapsed many centuries ago.
• Melik Mahmut Mosque - built in the 14th century and contains the tomb of its patron Melik Mahmut. It is known for its large gate which features elaborate stonework.
• Abdüllatif Mosque (Latfiye Mosque) - built in 1371 by the Artukid ruler Abdüllatif. Its minaret was destroyed by Tamerlane's army and rebuilt many centuries later in 1845 by the Ottoman Governor Gürcü Mehmet Pasha.
• Şehidiye Medresse and Mosque - built in the 1214 by Artuk Aslan. It has an elborate ribbed minaret and an adjoining Madrassa
• Selsel Mosque
• Necmettin Gazi Mosque
• Kasım Tuğmaner Mosque

Şehidiyye Mosque

• Reyhaniye Mosque - The second largest mosque in Mardin after Ulu Camii. Built in the 15th century, it has a large courtyard and open hallway featuring a fountain.
• Hamidiye Mosque (Zebuni Mosque) - built before the 15th century, it is named after its patron Şeyh Hamit Effendi.

• Süleymanpaşa Mosque
• Secaattin and Mehmet Mosque
• Hamza-i Kebir Mosque
• Şeyh Abdülaziz Mosque
• Melik Eminettin el-Emin Mosque
• Sıtra Zaviye Mosque
• Şeyh Salih Mosque
• Mahmut Türki Mosque
• Sarı Mosque
• Şeyh Çabuk Mosque - built in the 14th century and contains the tomb of its patron Şeyh Çabuk
• Nizamettin Begaz Mosque
• Kale Mosque
• Dinari Mosque

Madrassas [edit]

Zinciriye Medrese

• Zinciriye Medrese (Sultan Isa Medrese) - Constructed in 1385 by Najm ad-din Isa. The madrasa is part of a complez that includes a Mosque and the tomb of Najm ad-din Isa.
• Sitti Radviyye Medrese (Hatuniye Medrese) - built in the 12th century in the honor of Sitti Radviyye, the wife of Najm ad-din Alpi. There is a footprint that is claimed to be that to be that of the Prophet Muhammad.
• Kasımiye Medrese - construction started by the Artukids and completed by the Akkoyunlu under Sultan Kasım. It has an adjoining Mosque and a Dervish lodge.

Churches [edit]

Monastery of Deyrul Zafran

• Meryemana (Virgin Mary) Church
• Mor Yusuf (Surp Hovsep) Church
• Mor Behnam (Kırk Şehitler) Church - built in the name of Behnam and Saro, the two sons of an Aramean (Syriac) rule, dates from 569 AD
• Deyrü'z-Zafaran Monastery - The Syriac Orthodox Saffron Monastery was founded in 439 AD and is one of the oldest monasteries in the world and the only one that is still functioning in southern Turkey. From 1160 until 1932, it was the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch, until the Patriarchate relocated to the Syrian capital Damascus. The site of the monastery itself is said to have been used as a temple by sun worshipers as long ago as 2000 BC.^[5][6]
• Mor Mihail Church
• Mor Semune Church
• Mor Petrus and Pavlus Church
• Red (Surp Kevork) Church
• Mor Cercis Church
• Mor Efraim Monastery

Climate [edit]

Mardin has a semi-arid climate with very hot and dry summers and cold, wet, and occasionally snowy winters. Temperatures in summer usually increase to 40°C - 50°C (104°F - 122°F) due to Mardin being situated right next to the border of Syria. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two. Mardin has over 3000 hours of sun per year. The highest recorded temperature is +48.8°C.

Economy [edit]

A silverware workshop in Mardin

Mardin's economy is based on agriculture and mining with most of the industry based on the manufacture of building materials. Tourism has increased rapidly in recent years. Traditional handicrafts produced in Mardin are Saddles, Carpets, Pottry, Leatherware and Silverware.

Notable people [edit]

• Adnan Avuka, journalist^[7]
• Ali Bulaç, journalist^[7]
• Asım Hacımustafaoğlu, governor^[7]
• Aydın Ayaydın, writer^[7]
• Berdan Mardini, musician ^[7]
• Betül Mardin, businesswoman and activist^[7]
• Bülent Tekin, writer^[7]
• Fehim Adak, former State Minister^[7]
• İsmet Yedikardeş, sculptor^[7]
• Kemal Nehrozoğlu, former Presidential secretary^[7]
• Masum Türker, former Mister of Finance^[7]
• Muammer Güler, governor^[7]
• Mümtaz Tahincioğlu, head of TOMSFED^[7]
• Murat Kurşun, musician^[7]
• Murathan Mungan, poet and writer^[7]
• Nevbahar Tamçelik, academic^[7]
• Süleyman Bölünmez, businessman and parliamentarian^[7]
• Sultan Kösen, the world's tallest living man since 2009, lives in Mardin.^[8]
• Yusuf Karsh, photographer
• Zeynel Abidin Erdem, businessman^[7]

International relations [edit]

Twin towns — Sister cities [edit]

Mardin is twinned with:

Ljubljana, Slovenia, since 2003

See also [edit]

• Mardin Province
• Mardin (Chaldean Diocese)
• Amaseia
• Cappadocia
• Ürgüp

Notes [edit]

References [edit]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2008)

• Ayliffe, Rosie, et al.. (2000) The Rough Guide to Turkey. London: Rough Guides.
• Gaunt, David: Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia During World War I, Gorgias Press, Piscataway (NJ) 2006 I
• Grigore, George (2007), L'arabe parlé à Mardin. Monographie d'un parler arabe périphérique. Bucharest: Editura Universitatii din Bucuresti, ISBN (13) 978-973-737-249-9 [3]
• Jastrow, Otto (1969), Arabische Textproben aus Mardin und Asex, in "Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft" (ZDMG) 119 : 29-59.
• Jastrow, Otto (1992), Lehrbuch der Turoyo-Sprache in "Semitica Viva – Series Didactica", Wiesbaden : Otto Harrassowitz.
• Minorsky, V. (1991), Mārdīn, in "The Encyclopaedia of Islam". Leiden: E. J. Brill.
• Niebuhr, Carsten (1778), Reisebeschreibung, Copenhagen, II:391-8
• Shumaysani, Hasan (1987), Madinat Mardin min al-fath al-'arabi ila sanat 1515. Bayrūt: 'Ālam al-kutub.
• Tavernier, Jean-Baptiste (1692), Les six voyages, I:187
• Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1971), Linguistische Analyse des Arabischen Dialekts der Mhallamīye in der Provinz Mardin (Südossttürkei), Berlin.
• Socin, Albert (1904), Der Arabische Dialekt von Mōsul und Märdīn, Leipzig.
• della Valle, Pietro (1843), Viaggi, Brighton, I: 515
• Wittich, Michaela (2001), Der arabische Dialekt von Azex, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mardin

• News Portal of Mardin City
• The Spoken Arabic of Mardin
• Mardin Derik
• Mardin Tourism and Travel Guide
• Mardinimiz.net
• Governorship of Mardin
• Pictures of the city
• Mardin Weather Forecast Information
• Mardin Guide and Photo Album
• Mardin Company Directories
• First International Symposium of Mardin History
• Istanbul'daki Mardinliler Egitim ve Dayanisma Vakfi
•  "Mardin". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

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