Mardin Province
Encyclopedia
Mardin Province is a province of Turkey
with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin
' onMouseout='HidePop("75324")' href="/topics/Arabic_language">Arabic
: ماردين , Mardīn). Located near the traditional boundary of Anatolia
and Mesopotamia
, it has a diverse population consist of Kurdish
, Turkish
, Arab and Assyrian
people.
The local Assyrians(Syriacs)
, while much reduced due to the results of the Assyrian Genocide
, supports two of the oldest monasteries in the world, Dayro d-Mor Hananyo
(Turkish Deyrülzafaran, English Saffron Monastery) and Deyrulumur Monastery. The Christian community is concentrated on the Tur Abdin
plateau and in the town of Midyat
, with a smaller community (approximately 100) in the provincial capital.
Politically, the area is competitive between the governing Justice and Development Party
and Kurdish Democratic People's Party
, and the True Path Party has some strength, especially in rural parts of the province.
Unemployment and poverty are serious problems, and there has been considerable out migration to western and southern Turkey, although the reduction in political violence, coupled with infrastructure improvements such as a new civil airport at the provincial capital and improvements to the Ankara
-Baghdad
highway are helping ameliorate matters.
Mardin comes from the Syriac
word (ܡܪܕܐ) and means "fortresses".
(capital district in 'bold):
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin
Mardin
Mardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for its Arabic-like architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.-History:...
' onMouseout='HidePop("75324")' href="/topics/Arabic_language">Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: ماردين , Mardīn). Located near the traditional boundary of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, it has a diverse population consist of Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
, Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, Arab and Assyrian
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
people.
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, while much reduced due to the results of the Assyrian Genocide
Assyrian genocide
The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...
, supports two of the oldest monasteries in the world, Dayro d-Mor Hananyo
Dayro d-Mor Hananyo
Deyr ul-Zafaran Monastery is an important Syriac Orthodox monastery near the city of Mardin in Turkey. The monastery is located in the area known as Tur Abdin, the motherland of the Assyrian/Syriacs. It is usually better known by its nickname, the 'Saffron Monastery' . This name is derived from...
(Turkish Deyrülzafaran, English Saffron Monastery) and Deyrulumur Monastery. The Christian community is concentrated on the Tur Abdin
Tur Abdin
Tur Abdin is a hilly region of south east Turkey incorporating the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name 'Tur Abdin' is from the Syriac language meaning 'mountain of the servants '. Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac...
plateau and in the town of Midyat
Midyat
Midyat is an originally Assyrian/Syriac town in Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the epicenter of a centuries-old Assyrian/Syriac enclave in Southeast-Turkey, widely familiar under its Syriac name Tur Abdin. A cognate of the name Midyat is first encountered in an inscription of the...
, with a smaller community (approximately 100) in the provincial capital.
Politically, the area is competitive between the governing Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
and Kurdish Democratic People's Party
Democratic People's Party (Turkey)
Democratic People's Party was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. DEHAP was founded 24 October 1997. It was the continuation of the People's Democracy Party , which was banned in March 2003 by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it supported the Kurdistan Workers Party.At its...
, and the True Path Party has some strength, especially in rural parts of the province.
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
-Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
highway are helping ameliorate matters.
Mardin comes from the Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
word (ܡܪܕܐ) and means "fortresses".
Districts
Mardin province is divided into 10 districtsDistricts of Turkey
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 957 districts . In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the kaza....
(capital district in 'bold):
- DargeçitDargeçitDargeçit is a district of the Mardin Province of Turkey, traditionally an Assyrian/Syriac town. It had approximately 300 families in 1900. After the "Seyfo" in 1916, many were killed. It was inhabited by the Assyrians/Syriacs, Kurds and Armenians...
- DerikDerikDerik , is a district of the Mardin Province in the southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It has borders with Mazıdağı, Viranşehir and Kızıltepe. The Assyrian/Syriac People formed once a majority in this district....
- KızıltepeKiziltepeKızıltepe is a town in, and a district of Mardin Province of Turkey. Kızıltepe was the scene of clashes between protesting Kurds and Turkish riot police in 2006. Turks, Circassians, Kurds, Arabs make up the population....
- MardinMardinMardin is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for its Arabic-like architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria.-History:...
- MazıdağıMazidagiMazıdağı is a district of Mardin Province of Turkey. Today the Kurdish people form a majority in this district. The capital of the district was prior inhabited by the Assyrian/Syriac people with nomadic Kurdish tribes inhabited in its mountains...
- MidyatMidyatMidyat is an originally Assyrian/Syriac town in Mardin Province of Turkey. The ancient city is the epicenter of a centuries-old Assyrian/Syriac enclave in Southeast-Turkey, widely familiar under its Syriac name Tur Abdin. A cognate of the name Midyat is first encountered in an inscription of the...
- Nusaybin
- ÖmerliÖmerli, MardinÖmerli is a district of Mardin Province of Turkey. Ömerli was traditionally a Assyrian/Syriac dominated town....
Ma'asarte - SavurSavurSavur is a district of Mardin Province of Turkey.Savur Arabic is a Arabic city. Savur has a high literacy rate compared to neighboring regions. The district is rich in historical places. Some of them are: Aynkamar, Ras-ıl Meydan, Ras-ıl Harf, Köprübaşı as promenade places, Ulucami Mosque, Savur...
- YeşilliYesilli- External links :*...