3-Day Mardin & Midyat Tour from Istanbul

We pick you up from your hotel in Istanbul and take you to Istanbul Airport for your flight to Mardin. Your private guide meets you on arrival at Mardin Airport.

The day begins at Kasimiye Madrasa, a 15th-century theological school from the Artuqid period. Next is Deyrulzafaran Monastery, also called Mor Hananyo Monastery and the seat of the Metropolitan of Mardin. The first church here was built in the 5th century AD, and the monastery took its present form in the 18th century.

Lunch is at an authentic restaurant where you can taste the local cuisine.

In the afternoon you visit Mardin Grand Mosque, a fine example of Artuqid architecture. The day ends with a walk through the narrow streets of the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, past stone houses and into the bazaar, where you will find traditional handicrafts and souvenirs.

After the tour you are transferred to your hotel. Overnight in Mardin.

After breakfast your guide meets you and the day starts at the Sakip Sabanci Mardin City Museum, housed in a 19th-century army barracks, where artefacts tell the story of the city.

You then drive about an hour to Midyat, a district known for its attractive villages and monasteries. Midyat was an Assyrian village in the Ottoman period, and here you visit Midyat Guest House, a 19th-century Assyrian home.

After lunch in Midyat you continue to Mor Gabriel (Saint Gabriel) Monastery. Dating from the 5th century, it is one of the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monasteries in the world.

After the tour you are transferred to your hotel. Overnight in Mardin.

After breakfast your guide meets you and you begin at the Museum of Mardin, whose collection traces the history of the city.

Next is Zinciriye Madrasa (Isa Bey Madrasa), a 14th-century Islamic school that continued to teach until the 1920s and the founding of the Republic.

Before lunch you visit Mor Behnam (Kirklar) Church, the Church of the 40 Martyrs. It dates from 569 and was built in honour of the Syriac Saint Behnam and his sister.

The tour ends at the famous Dara Ancient City, once the administrative and military base of Upper Mesopotamia and often called the Ephesus of Mesopotamia.

You are then transferred to Mardin Airport for your flight to Istanbul. Our representative meets you at the airport in Istanbul and takes you to your hotel.

This is the end of our service. Thank you for travelling with us; we look forward to welcoming you again.