The Village of Kalecik
/ By Josh
The village of Kalecik near Nusaybin is an ancient cluster of stone houses built close together to form a protected castle on top of a remote ridge.
In the scheme of Turkey’s amazing diversity the province of Mardin is definitely one of the most unique. Whether it’s language, architecture, landscape, and even religion, it’s easy to forget that you’re in Turkey. Very few people speak Turkish as their first language, the architecture is far more arabesque in style, ruins are as likely to be Roman as they are Persian, and in many places both the adhan (or ezan, the Islamic call to prayer) and church bells can be heard. Lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates it sits in the Northern curve of the Fertile Crescent and has a deep history reaching back to the Neolithic.
Mardin is also the homeland of the Aramaic speaking Suryani (or Syriac) Christians that have continued in their traditions since the advent of Christianity; their churches and monasteries number among the oldest in the world.
With stunning architecture, dramatic landscapes, scattered ruins, and living history there are a hundred reasons to visit Mardin!
