Architecture / Historic street and neighborhood
Mardin's Abbaras and Stone Streets
Artuklu, Mardin
The most original street fabric of old Mardin, with vaulted passages beneath houses (abbaras) and terraced stone houses.
Safety warning
Its story
Mardin's houses were built in terraces rising one above the other from the foot of the castle toward the plain; this creates a climate-suited settlement pattern in which the houses do not shade one another and the narrow streets stay in shade in summer. The most original element of this fabric is the vaulted passages called 'abbara' that pass beneath some houses. The abbaras form unexpected shortcuts between neighborhoods on the sloping hillside. They are seen most densely in the Savurkapı neighborhood, and are also found in the Teker, Şehidiye, Medrese and Gül neighborhoods. Walking along the stepped streets you see doors decorated with stonework, bay windows (cumba) and mansions with courtyards.
Key facts
- Period
- Traditional Mardin residential fabric
- Admission
- Open area
- Getting there
- Savurkapı and surrounding neighborhoods, on foot
- Visit duration
- 1–2 hours
Trip purpose
- Free
- Photography
- Hiking
Location
37.31413, 40.74607
Reviews
No approved reviews yet. Reviews are written in the app after a visit.
Source: Web derlemesi (doğrulanmalı): https://mardin.ktb.gov.tr/TR-312302/abbaralar.html | https://mardin.ktb.gov.tr/TR-317443/mardin-tas-evleri-ve-sokaklari.html | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q139429157