Evaluation of archaeological areas in city of Mardin in terms of tourism development of the province

It is almost an open-air museum with 238 archaeological sites, 3 urban sites and 1403 registered cultural assets of the province of Mardin. The fact that many civilizations have lived in Mardin makes the city culturally important. Visits made in recent years have increased the importance of cultural tourism. The historical texture of Mardin province attracts the attention of tourists. Unemployment is one of the important problems in Mardin province. When we look at the province of Mardin, it is expected that tourism will be an important factor in eliminating the unemployment problem. Tourists who come to see the region contribute to the economy of the region as well as visiting ancient cities and areas. The fact that tourism is a labor-intensive sector affects employment positively. Employment is also created as a result of archaeological excavations. The aim of the research is to evaluate the archaeological sites in the province of Mardin in terms of the development of the province and to identify and record some ancient settlements and archaeological sites and transfer them to future generations. Qualitative research method was preferred as the research method and semi-structured interview technique was used as the data collection technique. The area of the study is the province of Mardin, and while determining the sample, maximum variation and purposeful sampling methods were used. The research was conducted face to face with a total of 16 participants, 6 of whom were archaeologists, who were foundations of archaeological sites. The obtained findings were processed with descriptive analysis method and turned into data. It has been observed that there are not many studies on the archaeological sites in the province of Mardin. As a result of the study, new places where excavations were carried out or where no excavations were carried out were determined and recorded. As a result of the study, it has been determined that the archaeological sites will create employment as a result of tourism.