Mardin
The Monastery of Mor Gabriel (Saint Gabriel) is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world. It was founded in 397 by two monks Mor Shmuel and his apprentice Mor Shemun on the Tur Abdin plateau near ancient town of Midyat. According to legend Shemun saw an Angel in a dream and this Angel said him to build a church in a place marked with three big stones.
This zawiya was build on the small hill in the memory of Imam Abdullah, which comes from the descent of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was very respected by people so his tomb was extended and became a kulliye.
Winemaking in the Upper Mesopotamia enjoys a very long history and the roots of it go back more than six millennia. The spread of Islam in this area seriously damaged it due to ban on alcohol. But Middle East christians keep the traditions of local winemaking alive up to now.
There are a lot of very interesting but hidden places in the old part of Mardin which the guests of it can not even imagine. For example you can see many beautiful photos of this city in the Internet and in the tourist guide books. But even for locals sometimes it's hard to find correct viewpoint to make similar camera shots.
Shahmaran (Turkish "Şahmeran") is a fabulous creature which is popular in the culture of many peoples in the Middle East. She is considered to be the queen of the serpents and the keeper of the wisdom. She is usually described as a being with a head of a beautiful and intelligent woman, a body of a dragon and a second serpent head at the tip of her tail.
Mardin is very old city which was founded several thousands years ago at the mountains of the Northern Mesopotamia. The development of the Great Silk road gave rise to this city. Under the walls of the Mardin fortess the caravans found shelter and took a rest before going to Amed (present Diyarbakır) or Edessa (now Şanlıurfa).
Sometimes it seems that time has stopped at the narrow streets of the old Mardin. When I am having a walk there I can take a stroll through history in my mind. It is hard just to imagine how many strange and mysterious stories are hidden at the corners of this mystical city.
Old Mardin is a very interesting and really mystical city but looks like not "open mind". It knows a lot of different stories but doesn't want to tell them to its guests. It is also hard to find somebody among locals who can become a guide to the real history of this city.
Dara was an important Early Byzantine city build just 30 years later after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Kız kalesi is an ancient fortess located on the top of the hill in about 5 km from the center of Mardin.