The tourism potential of Mardin

The culture of Mardin bears the imprint of various antique civilizationsflourishing in the area. Mardin has an enormous historical, cultural and architecturalrichness. It is apparent that this richness has the potential of contributing much to thedevelopment of the province and national tourism if mobilized and managed properly.Mardin enjoys a privileged status in the sense that it is able to make people livethe past and to present what is old and valuable to present generations. Mardin?scultural diversity is further enriched by the deep-rooted culture of various communitiesincluding the oldest Christian community, the Suryani. Mardin is a city of tolerancewhere ezan from mosques lives in brotherhood with church bells.In recent years Mardin has become a center of attraction for many people fromdifferent parts of the world. It is a candidate for UNESCO?s List of ?Cities of WorldHeritage.? Submitting, protecting and transferring cultural richness for the nextgenerations require a big importance. In our city and its provinces we have 665 buildingsregistered by protection of culture and nature values committee directorate.KEY WORDS: Mardin, Tourism, Potential