TR · Southeastern Anatolia · 37.31°N 40.74°E

mardin

Honey-coloured stone lanes, Syriac monasteries and terraces overlooking the Mesopotamian plain.

Best time
April–May and September–October are the best months. July–August is fiercely hot; winter is cold and occasionally snowy.
How long
2–3 days
Getting there
Fly with one stop via Istanbul, about 15–17 hours all in. The airport is about 30 minutes from the old town. Turkey is 5 hours behind KL all year.
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TR · Southeastern Anatoliamardin37.31°N 40.74°Egowherelah.com
Dear group chat,Honey-coloured stone lanes, Syriac monasteries and terraces overlooking the Mesopotamian plain.— gowherelahTo: whoever’s drivingMardinTR, Southeastern Anatolia
KLmardin
≈ 7,254 km from KL, as the crow flies
Mardin, Mardin Merkez/Mardin, Turkey

Photo: Ben Bender · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each.

Old Mardin is stacked up a hillside in honey-coloured stone, with mosques, churches and carved mansions looking out over the flat plain of Mesopotamia. Arab, Kurdish, Turkish and Syriac Christian communities all have roots here, and it shows in the food.

Makan

  1. IrokBulgur shells stuffed with spiced meat, Mardin's version of içli köfte.Map ↗
  2. Kaburga dolmasıLamb ribs stuffed with spiced rice and roasted, made for sharing.Map ↗
  3. MırraVery strong, bitter coffee boiled down for hours and served a few sips at a time.Map ↗

Things to do

  1. Old town lanesStepped alleys, stone arches and carved doorways, best wandered without a plan.Map ↗
  2. Zinciriye MedreseA 14th-century college with ribbed domes and a rooftop view over the plain.Map ↗
  3. Kasımiye MedreseA quieter college below the town, with a courtyard pool fed by a long water channel.Map ↗
  4. Deyrulzafaran MonasteryA Syriac Orthodox monastery in use for some 1,500 years, a short drive out of town.Map ↗
  5. MidyatAnother old stone town about an hour east, with the ancient Mor Gabriel monastery nearby.Map ↗

Good to know

  • Many old-town lanes are stairs, so with heavy bags pick a hotel with a door on a street a car can reach.
  • Meat is halal as standard, as across Turkey.

Last checked October 2026. Things change, so check opening times, fees and transport before you go.