Mardin & Mesopotamia: Ancient Cities and Hidden Villages

Day by day

Your itinerary

1. Day1

   Arrival in Mardin

   Your private driver meets you at the airport and takes you up to the old town. Wander its stone houses and stepped lanes, browse the bazaars for soap, spices and copper, and watch the sun go down over the Mesopotamian plain from a rooftop terrace.

   Overnight in Mardin

2. Day2

   Mardin's hidden heritage

   A day for the city's secrets: carved courtyards, old mosques, churches and madrasas tucked behind plain doors, and, opening arrangements permitting, a monastery in the hills outside town. Leave time for the workshops of local craftsmen and a long lunch of Mardin's spiced, slow-cooked dishes.

   Overnight in Mardin

3. Day3

   Dara and Savur

   Drive to Dara, a Roman and Byzantine frontier city where you can walk through rock-cut tombs and descend into vast underground cisterns. Continue to Savur, a quiet little town of stone mansions above a green valley, where life still moves at its own pace.

   Overnight in Mardin

4. Day4

   Midyat and Syriac heritage

   Head into the Tur Abdin plateau to Midyat, famous for its grand stone mansions and the fine silver filigree of its workshops. Visit a Syriac Orthodox monastery nearby, subject to access and opening times, where prayers are still said in a form of Aramaic.

   Overnight in Midyat or Mardin

5. Day5

   A last morning and departure

   A relaxed final walk through the old town or a local market, then a private transfer to Mardin Airport.