My last stop in the Anatolian southeast before heading back westwards was the city of Mardin. I took a bus from Şanlıurfa, I crossed the Euphrates River, and a few hours later I was in Mesopotamia. It was a funny and a fuzzy feeling to be in locations that until then were simply encyclopedic to me.
I took a cab from the bus station to the Old Town, where I was staying. I easily found my guesthouse, and from there, I started exploring.
Mardin is known for its Artuqid architecture. Every structure in the Old Town has the same look and feel to it, consisting of this sand-coloured brick buildings. In the above photos, you see the Forty Martyrs Church. I peeked inside (where photos weren't allowed), and saw Aramaic sacred texts. Mardin seems to be a melting pot of cultures, and it feels more Arab than Turkish here.
I also visited the local museum, with small exhibits of artifacts from the area. It is not the fanciest museum, unlike the others I have visited earlier in this trip, yet it was still interesting to see the local artifacts that are on display.
As I was meandering the narrow streets, I somehow ended up in the Latifiye Mosque. It isn't the fanciest, yet nevertheless it reminds me of the amazing mosques I have seen in Iran, which come to think of it, is close by.
And finally, I explored the Zinciriye Medrese, dating from the 14th century. It is built on a slope, and Mardin in general is on a hill, overlooking the Mesopotamian plain. From the roof, one could see the Mesopotamian plain, which definitely visually emphasises that it really is a fertile crescent.
I stayed for two nights in Mardin, which allowed me to explore this very interesting corner of Turkey. It was definitely a very atypical side of Turkey, very far from the views one typically expects from Istanbul.
