Tombstones and inscriptions in the Dara Village of Mardin

Dara, a neighbourhood of Mardin province in southeast our country, has a rich historical and cultural heritage. Thanks to its historical and geographical location, it has remained an important centre for centuries. With these characteristics, it has survived to the present day as a place where different civilizations come and go and cannot be erased by cultural and historical traces. The fact that different beliefs were found in Mardin and its environs as well as Islamic beliefs led to the formation of cultural interaction and this was reflected in art and architecture. This multiculturalism melted into a crucible and blended into a unique identity in civil and religious architecture. Tombstones and inscriptions in Dara village of Mardin ,which is the subject of master thesis, was studied within islamic tombstones and mosque inscriptions situated Dara village of Mardin. As a result of this research, 41 graves and 5 mosque inscriptions has been identified in Dara village. The distribution of these works are as follows; 19 graves are located in Ağa Cemetery, 21 graves are in Zindan Cemetery and 5 mosque inscriptions are on the Dara Mosque. In the first stage of the research has begun with collecting resources and documents. Afterwards, within the scope of the thesis,area studies started in the region in September 2016 and continued in May 2017, January 2018 and March 2019. As a result of the researches, gravestones and inscriptions found in Dara were photographed and some of the works survey measurements were taken. In the light of the information obtained, firstly brief information about the geographical location and history of Dara is given. In the catalog part of the thesis, the works are presented in chronological order. In the evaluation section, the works are compared with each other and other similar works in the region. In the conclusion section, after a general description and characteristics of the works are mentioned, the conclusion is briefly mentioned. The tombs in Dara are significant cultural values that give us an circumstantial evidence indication of the reflections they have had in different time periods of the regional culture. In this context, we have made such a study in order to indicate the place of our cultural and artistic assets in the history of Dara. Key words Mardin, Dara, Islam, Tomb, Inscription, Mosque