Turkey · Southeastern Anatolia · Travel guide
What a week in the golden stone city really costs, how to combine Mardin, Midyat and the monasteries sensibly and which experiences are worth it.
Photo: Osman Karagöz / Pexels
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Estimates for orientation, not booking prices. Flights and hotels vary strongly by season: current prices are behind the links below.
Money & payment: You pay in Turkish lira (TRY). The exchange rate moves a lot, which is why all prices here are given in francs and euros. Cards are accepted almost everywhere; you need cash for the dolmuş, markets and tips. Flight time: 3 to 4 hours.
Nine options in three price ranges, each among the best-rated on Booking.com.
Budget
Simple but lovingly run stone house directly below the Zinciriye madrasa, in the heart of the old town. The rooms are small and plain, but the roof terrace has one of the best views in the city. Good value for the location, breakfast with regional produce. Worth booking ahead, the house is small.
Classic city hotel in the new town, a little dated but clean, with parking and fair prices. Good for anyone travelling by rental car who only visits the old town during the day. The old town is ten minutes away by taxi or dolmuş.
Modern new build in the new town with large, functional rooms, reliable Wi-Fi and a decent breakfast buffet. No charm, but plenty of comfort for the money, and the dolmuş gets you to the old town in a quarter of an hour. Popular with Turkish business travellers. Often the cheapest option with its own car park.
Mid-range
Restored mansion right on the main street, with vaulted rooms, a courtyard and a terrace from which you look out over the Mesopotamian plain. In-house restaurant serving Mardin cuisine, attentive service. One of the most booked hotels in the city, so reserve early. Rooms on the terrace side are the best.
Small boutique hotel in a 19th-century stone house, quietly located in a side alley above the main street. Few rooms, personal management, breakfast on the terrace with a panoramic view. Ideal for couples who want to experience old Mardin without the bustle. With lots of luggage the stairs are a challenge.
An old caravanserai converted into a hotel: thick stone walls, vaults, a large courtyard with a restaurant. The rooms are cool in summer and atmospheric, and the house sits right on the main street. A good choice if you want atmosphere and a central location. At night the street can be a little noisy.
Luxury
The largest hotel in the city, five-star standard with pool, spa, hammam and large rooms. It is in the new town but offers a free shuttle to the old town. For anyone who wants air conditioning and a pool after a hot day in the alleys.
Reliable international standard on the edge of the new town, with views of the old town on the hillside. Big beds, good breakfast, gym, parking. No old-town charm, but no surprises either. Practical for the first or last night with an early flight. Shuttle to the old town on request.
The most beautiful konak hotel in the region, an hour from Mardin in Midyat. An entire mansion complex of carved limestone, with courtyards, terraces and rooms that feel like museum halls. Quiet, elegant and the ideal base for the monasteries of the Tur Abdin. Worth extending your trip by a night.
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With a guide you understand why mosques, churches and madrasas stand wall to wall here. Around three hours, including stepped alleys, abbaras and the Zinciriye madrasa. Start early, before the day-trip buses arrive. Around CHF 25 (about EUR 27) per person.
The Saffron Monastery, six kilometres outside the city, seat of the Syriac Orthodox patriarch for 600 years. Guided tour through crypt, chapels and courtyard. A must, even if you only have one day. Entry costs a few francs.
Eastern Roman fortress city with huge underground cisterns and a necropolis carved into the rock. Hardly any visitors, great impact. Best combined with Deyrulzafaran as a half-day tour. Do not forget water and a hat, there is no shade.
Day trip to the quieter sister city with its silver workshops and to the monastery of Mor Gabriel, one of the oldest active monasteries in the world. With a driver from Mardin, worthwhile from two people. Plan a whole day.
The most beautiful madrasa in the city, on the lower edge of the old town, with courtyard, water basin and views over the plain. Almost empty at sunset. Entry is cheap, 45 minutes is enough. Reachable on foot from the main street.
Make kaburga dolması, ikbebet and mırra coffee yourself, usually in an old konak with a meal afterwards. An honest way into the city's Arab-Kurdish cuisine. Half a day. Around CHF 40 to 60 (about EUR 43 to 65) per person.
In an old cavalry building, it explains the region's religions, languages and crafts in an honest way. With an art gallery. A good first stop for understanding the city. Allow about an hour, entry is cheap.
No ticket needed: find one of the rooftop cafés in the old town, order tea and watch the plain turn golden. The cafés on the main street charge more, but the view is the same everywhere.
Multi-day tours connect Mardin with Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Göbekli Tepe and Nemrut. Practical if you do not want to rent a car, and often no more expensive than individual excursions. Usually with driver, guide and nights in stone hotels.
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Mardin cooks Arab, Kurdish and Syriac at the same time: stuffed lamb ribs, bulgur in every form, bitter mırra coffee, sugar-coated almonds and wine from the monastery villages of the Tur Abdin. The food tastes of Mesopotamia, not of Istanbul.
A rack of lamb ribs stuffed with rice, almonds and spices, boiled first and then browned in the oven; a feast for two to four people. CHF 15 to 20 (about EUR 16 to 21) per person.
Tip:Order ahead, the ribs take hours; in the evening with the view over the plain.
Stuffed bulgur balls, a relative of içli köfte, cooked in Mardin in a tangy tomato or yoghurt sauce rather than fried. CHF 5 to 8 (about EUR 5.40 to 8.60).
Tip:At lunchtime, as part of a round of meze.
Half-moon flatbread with minced meat, onions and spices, thin and crisp from the stone oven; the street food of Mardin. CHF 2 (about EUR 2.20).
Tip:Hot from the oven, with lemon, eaten on the move.
Leg of lamb studded with garlic cloves and roasted in its own juices; tender, mild and a Sunday dish. CHF 12 to 18 (about EUR 13 to 19).
Tip:Order it for two, with rice and salad.
Coffee boiled several times and reduced to a bitter essence, served without sugar in a tiny cup; a sip rather than a drink. Often free, otherwise CHF 1 to 2 (about EUR 1.10 to 2.20).
Tip:Do not put the cup down, hand it back to your host; tradition says that putting it down means you are paying for the wedding.
Almonds in a white sugar crust, made in Mardin for centuries; crunchy, not too sweet, also with cinnamon or coffee. CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 9 to 13) per kilo.
Tip:Have it packed in a tin as a souvenir.
Red wine from local grapes, pressed by Syriac families, often unlabelled, rustic and heavy. A glass costs CHF 4 to 6 (about EUR 4.30 to 6.50), a bottle CHF 10 to 20.
Tip:Not every restaurant serves it, ask discreetly; in Midyat you can buy and taste.
Syriac festive biscuits with a date or walnut filling, spiced with mahleb; short and not too sweet. CHF 8 to 12 (about EUR 9 to 13) per kilo.
Tip:Fresh at Easter and Christmas, otherwise from the tin, with tea.
Mardin clings to a rocky hillside high above the Mesopotamian plain, and from every terrace you can see all the way to Syria. The city is built from honey-coloured limestone, house upon house, linked by stepped alleys and vaulted passages known as abbaras. The Assyrians already knew the site; Romans, Byzantines and Arabs followed. Mardin's golden age came under the Artuqids in the 12th and 13th centuries: the Zinciriye and Kasımiye madrasas with their elaborately carved portals date from that period. What makes Mardin special is its diversity. Arabs, Kurds, Turks and Syriac Orthodox Christians have lived side by side here for centuries, and the Deyrulzafaran monastery just outside the city was the seat of the Syriac Orthodox patriarch for more than 600 years. In the Tur Abdin, the hill country east of Mardin, monasteries still stand where prayers are said in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. The ruins of Dara, once an Eastern Roman fortress city facing the Persians, lie half an hour away. Mardin is on the UNESCO tentative list and has become the most popular destination in Turkey's southeast in recent years.
Mardin is two cities. The historic old town on the hillside that you know from the photos, and the new town down on the plain with its shopping centres and concrete blocks. Hotels in the new town are noticeably cheaper, often CHF 30 to 40 (about EUR 32 to 43) per night, but you take a dolmuş or taxi up the hill every single time. The old town is the reason for your trip: breakfast on a terrace overlooking Mesopotamia, the lit-up alleys in the evening. A restored stone house there costs CHF 60 to 120. My advice: do not skimp on the hotel. Rooms in the old konaks are often small and reached via steep stairs, but you sleep in real history. If you travel with a lot of luggage: cars can barely get through the old town, so ask the hotel in advance where you can park or be dropped off.
The Saffron Monastery, Deyrulzafaran, lies only six kilometres outside the city and takes an hour to visit. It is still inhabited, monks and students live here, and the guided tour is included in the entrance fee of a few francs. If you have some time, carry on into the Tur Abdin: the monastery of Mor Gabriel near Midyat is one of the oldest still active monasteries in the world, founded in the year 397. Visits are possible, but modest clothing and a respectful manner are essential, this is not a museum. The village churches in Hah (Anıtlı) are quieter still. For the Tur Abdin you need a car or a day tour from Mardin, which costs around CHF 60 to 90 (about EUR 65 to 95) with a driver, depending on how many of you share it. The dolmuş gets you to Midyat but not to the remote monasteries.
Midyat, an hour to the east, is Mardin's quieter counterpart: an old town of the same honey-coloured stone, fewer tourists, more churches. Midyat is famous for telkâri, the delicate silver filigree work that Syriac Christians have practised here for centuries. If you want to buy jewellery, do it here, in the workshops around the guesthouse konak, and not in the souvenir shops on Mardin's main street, where the same piece often hangs for twice the price. Ask whether you can watch them work; most masters are happy to show you. Realistic prices: a pair of small earrings from CHF 20 (about EUR 21), an elaborate bracelet CHF 80 to 200. The dolmuş to Midyat leaves from the bus station in the new town for a few francs. If you want to stay the night, Midyat has a few very beautiful konak hotels that are cheaper than in Mardin.
Dara lies 30 kilometres southeast, almost on the Syrian border, and many visitors skip it. A mistake. The 6th-century Eastern Roman garrison city has huge underground cisterns, rock-cut burial chambers and a necropolis that looks like a film set. Entry is cheap, and guides on site explain the complex for a tip. Getting there: dolmuş services from Mardin are irregular, so a taxi for the round trip is easier, negotiated from CHF 35 to 45 (about EUR 37 to 48) including waiting time, or a half-day tour that combines Dara and Deyrulzafaran. Bring water, there is hardly any shade, and in summer it is over 40 degrees from midday. Early morning or late afternoon is when the light on the stone is most beautiful. Combined with the monastery, Dara is the half day that will stay with you longest after the trip.
Mardin's cuisine is Arab, Kurdish and Syrian all at once and clearly different from the rest of Turkey. Try kaburga dolması, stuffed lamb ribs with rice, almonds and spices, a feast dish that old-town restaurants serve for CHF 15 to 20 (about EUR 16 to 21). İkbebet are stuffed bulgur balls in sauce, sembusek is a filled flatbread from a street stall for CHF 2. Alongside it, mırra, a bitter, heavily reduced coffee drunk from tiny cups that you do not put down until you have finished. The restaurants with the best views on the main street are twice as expensive as the places in the side alleys, and rarely better. For something sweet: Mardin almonds with a sugar crust (badem şekeri) and the date biscuits from the Syriac bakery. You do not need to book anywhere, except at weekends in spring, when half of Istanbul is visiting Mardin.
1. Cadde, the main street of the old town, is full of soap shops, souvenir stalls and cafés. All pretty, all aimed at visitors. The real Mardin is in the stepped alleys above and below it: climb the steps towards the citadel (which itself is a military zone and closed) and you are in residential quarters where children play and neighbours drink tea on the rooftops. The Ulu Camii and the Kırklar Kilisesi, a 6th-century Syriac Orthodox church, are both freely accessible. The Kasımiye madrasa on the lower edge of town has the most beautiful courtyard in the city and is almost empty at sunset. The Sabancı City Museum in an old cavalry building explains the region's diversity honestly and is worth the small entrance fee. Allow a whole day for the old town on foot, with plenty of tea breaks, because the stairs are steep and the heat arrives early.
Two full days for the old town, Deyrulzafaran and Dara. Add Midyat and the Tur Abdin and it becomes a third. If you combine Mardin with Diyarbakır (90 minutes) or Şanlıurfa (three hours), plan a week for the whole southeast.
April, May, October and November are ideal at 18 to 28 degrees. Summer is brutally hot, regularly over 40 degrees in July and August, and the stone city stores the heat. Winters are mild, sometimes rainy, but the city is then almost free of tourists.
With Turkish Airlines or Pegasus via Istanbul to Mardin (MQM); the airport is 20 minutes from the city. Alternatively fly to Diyarbakır (DIY) or Şanlıurfa (GNY) and continue by bus. Expect CHF 350 to 500 (about EUR 375 to 535) for a return flight, depending on the season.
Mardin has been a calm, well-developed tourist destination for years, and the nearby Syrian border changes nothing about everyday life. Most foreign ministries advise against travel to the immediate border areas with Syria; Mardin city, Midyat and Dara are not affected. Check your foreign ministry's current travel advice before you go, follow police instructions and avoid demonstrations. Visitors consistently report great hospitality.
Deyrulzafaran yes, by taxi or on foot (6 km). Mor Gabriel and the villages of the Tur Abdin are difficult without a car. Either rent a car at Mardin airport (from CHF 35, about EUR 37, per day) or book a day tour with a driver, which pays off for two to four people.
Yes, but alongside it Arabic, Kurdish and, among the Syriac Christians, Aramaic. English is spoken mainly by younger people in tourism. A «Merhaba» opens doors, and an Arabic «Shukran» (thank you) often earns you a smile in Mardin.
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