MARDIN

Mardin: translation

Mardin is a small city (some 60,000) and also the name of a province (over 700,000) in southeasternTurkeybordering onSyriaand thus in the northern part of the historicJazire. The population is largely ethnic Kurdish, although there are also numerous Arabs, Turks, andChristians. The province was underEmergency Rulefor many years during the uprising staged by theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK). The city itself is perched on an ancient citadel. Perhaps its most interesting buildings are the Sultan Isa Medresesi dating from 1385 and the nearby Saffron Monastery (Deyrul Zafaran).