ITCHY FEET TRAVELS

Mardin, Turkey

June 28, 2023

Perched on a hillock close to the border of Iraq is the town of Mardin. With craggy hilltops, one of them crowned with the old castle, it is picturesque. The old town was once completely made of honey-colored sandstone with all buildings staggering up and down the hill. The ten years since I have been here have wrought enormous change and suddenly it is firmly on the map of domestic tourists.

Many of the old buildings have been restored and re-purposed – a pleasure to see. The post office and the museum are two such. Many others are hotels and shops.

It is delightful to wander the narrow streets and stairs that honeycomb the old town. They up and down impossibly steep stairs, wind around alleys and tunnel under houses.

But the rapid growth of this town and the mobs of domestic tourists means it is a circus. The one lane open to traffic is clogged and apparently Mardin even draws the occasional bigwig, attended by an appropriate number of sycophants and gun-toting of security detail.

There is a sizable community of Syrian Christians here and as been for a long time. A wine shop belonging to a Syrian Christian family housed in a lovely old stone building offered wine tasting and I did not need to be asked a second time.

Nor could I pass up the chance to stay in one of the old stone houses. A terrace overlooking the ridge across, a glass of good wine was an excellent way to chill after the saga of the infamous border crossing!