1. The City of Mardin
Presenter: Dilber Ademhan Tural
2. Location of Mardin
Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey.
It is on the rail and highway routes connecting Turkey to
Syria and Iraq.
3. Location of Mardin
Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey.
It is on the rail and highway routes connecting Turkey to
Syria and Iraq.
It is an important regional trading center.
The city is located along the historical Silk Road and there are 5 inns
and caravansaries in the city.
4. Location of Mardin
The city of Mardin is located on the slope of a hill looking down south
to the Mesopotamian plains.
It is one of the oldest cities of north Mesopotamia.
5. History
4500 Bc.: Tribes called Subarians were living in the area .
4500 Bc.: Subarians are known to have established the first country
in the history.
4500 Bc.: Subarians were known as preliminary Asurians by historians
and their country was called Subarto.
2200 Bc.: Hammurabi, king of Babylon, took control of Mardin
when attacking to north Mesopotamia.
1931 Bc.: Hitites, 250: Roman Empire.
6. History
3rd century: Many Syrian Christians settled in Mardin.
640: Occupied by Muslim Arabs.
1104: Falls to the Seljuqs.
1394: Conquered by Timur Lenk.
1408: Falls to the Karakoyun Turkmen tribe.
1516: Becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
8. Diversity in Mardin
Mardin is called the city of seven languages and seven religions.
Today Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Yezidi, and Syrian Christians live
friendly in Mardin.
The city also had a sizeable Jewish community until the 1950s: Most of
the Jews in Mardin migrated to Israel after 1948 for a new beginning.
9. Diversity in Mardin
Various religious and ethnic groups have lived peacefully for centuries
in Mardin.
Ezan from mosques (islamic call for prayer) lives in brotherhood with
church bells.
10. Mor Gabriel Monastery
Founded in 397.
It is the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world.
The monastery’s primary purpose is to keep Syriac Orthodox Christianity
alive in the land of its birth by providing schooling, ordination of native-born
monks.
13. Mor Hananya Monastery (Deyrulzaffaran)
Established in the 8th century.
The monastery is the oldest known temple of Semsilik (belief of wor-
shiping the sun).
Today, the monastery includes the Sun Temple, the Virgin Mary Church,
the Saints’ House and the Domed Church.
15. Virgin Mary Church
The church was built in 1860 by Patriarch Antoine Semheri on 21 pillars.
16. Kasimiye Madrasah
The Kasimiye Madrasah was completed around 1500 by Sultan Kasim of Akko
The complex comprises of a madrasah, a mosque, and tombs.
19. Mardin Museum
Mardin Museum is a storehouse of ancient remnants from the historic
past.
In 1988, the Turkish Ministry of Culture purchased the structure
from the Syriac Catholic Foundation.
It was restored into a museum in 1995.
21. Handcrafts in Mardin
Mardin is famous for different handcrafts.
Silver smiting (Telkari), masonry, copper smiting, kilim (small carpet)
weaving and pottery are traditional handcrafts which are still continuing.
