Mardin

Capital of Mardin province, southeast Turkey, 90 km/56 mi south of Diyarbakir; population (2001 est) 67,200. Its strategic position on a rocky outcrop facing the Syrian plain, 1,325 m/4,347 ft above sea-level, has made the city a long-established military post. It is the commercial centre of a fertile agricultural region, producing cereals and grapes.

Features Three Syrian Orthodox churches remain, including the Cumhuriyet Meydani, a decaying cathedral. Other notable buildings include an impregnable citadel, and some fine examples of Arab-style domestic architecture.

History Mardin became a Syrian Christian Orthodox enclave from the fifth century AD, surviving successive waves of occupation by the Seljuks, Mongols, and Ottomans, but the community suffered heavily during World War I and is now much reduced.