Mardin, the City of Turkey Where You Can Travel to Ancient Mesopotamia

People travel for many reasons. Some enjoy exploring art, others focus on cuisine... and there are even those who travel to experience being in a different land where no one knows their identity, and they can play at being new people. If you travel to uncover the history of the world through the remnants left by ancient civilizations, you should add Mardin to your list of upcoming trips.

The Turkish city of Mardin is located in one of the oldest areas settled in Upper Mesopotamia. The Subarians were the first inhabitants of this locality, having stepped on its lands for the first time in 4000 B.C. After them, a series of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations passed through the city as a role model: Elamites, Babylonians... until Alexander the Great took the city in 335 B.C.

The Muslim Umayyads settled in Mardin, bringing Islam in 692. After wars and bloodshed between groups of the same religion to conquer the city, whose name means "fortress" in Latin, the Artuqids came to power. Thanks to them, the city has Muslim architecture that can be enjoyed for its beauty and the meaning of the traditional symbolism that adorns its walls. Most decorations are inspired by nature or geometry, as the Quran prohibits the representation of God and the prophets.

Christianity arrived in the region of Anatolia in the 1st century B.C. When it became the official religion of the Roman Empire during the 4th century, Mardin became an important center, especially with the passing of the Byzantines. Even under Ottoman rule after the Islamic and Turkish invasions, the "fortress" maintained Christianity. In addition to the languages of ancient civilizations that mingled, coexisted, and died with their people, other religions such as Syriac Christianity, one of the most important Christian communities of Eastern Christianity, passed through Mardin.

Moreover, the city was part of the Silk Road, so the city's history is not based solely on what happened there, but also on what passed through it.

The city, embraced by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, offers a wide variety of opportunities for all visitors (not just history lovers) to enjoy Mardin. The Bazaar is a sensory journey: colors, spices, textures... and the Great Mosque is an architectural treasure from which one can learn about all the epochs of the city.

As the sunset arrives, the earth-toned architecture takes on a bright hue that earns Mardin the nickname "City of the Sun," making it a pure gem worthy of a visit.