Conservation problems of cultural heritage in ancient cites and its effect on daily living spaces: The case of the ancient city of Mardin Dara

Since the ancient city of Dara has hosted many Mesopotamian civilizations from past to present, it contains traces, archaeological remains and historical artifacts of them. However, only a small part of Dara's cultural heritage has been revealed in the academic studies and official actions carried out so far. A holistic field study could not be carried out as excavations were either left unfinished due to lack of resources or were interrupted as they were carried separately. In this study, the archaeological site and historical buildings of the ancient city of Dara are examined in terms of their architectural features. It is aimed to conduct a holistic field study about the history and current situation of Dara by examining the military structures, water structures and religious structures of the ancient city of Dara. In addition, in the ancient city of Dara, daily life continues intertwined with cultural heritage. A mansion built on bastions, a house above a water cistern, or a Roman column can be observed as part of a tandouri where bread is made. Such a use, in a sense, prevents the loss of the structure and the material, while at the same time it causes the originality being destroyed. In this study, the unity of daily life and cultural heritage in the ancient city of Dara was examined in the context of protection. During the study, physical field studies, literature review and survey studies were carried out. The data obtained from the studies were evaluated and presented in the Findings-Discussion section. As stated in the Results section of our study, it was observed that the comfort conditions of daily life in the archaeological site could not be met. It has been determined that the continuation of daily life in cultural heritage areas creates serious problems at the point of protection of it.