Mardin Province

Mardin Province Mardin ili
—  Province of Turkey  —
Location of Mardin Province in Turkey
Country	Turkey
Region	Southeastern Anatolia
Capital	Mardin
Area
- Total	8,891 km2 (3,432.8 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
- Total	744,606
- Density	83.7/km2 (216.9/sq mi)
Area code(s)	0482
Vehicle registration	47
Website	mardin.gov.tr

Mardin Province (Turkish: Mardin ili ) is a province of Turkey with a population of 744,606.^[2] The population was 835,173 in 2000.^[3] The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin (Kurdish: Mêrdîn, Syriac: ܡܶܪܕܺܝܢ‎ "Mardin" in related Semitic language Arabic: ماردين , Mardīn). Located near the traditional boundary of Anatolia and Mesopotamia, it has a diverse population consist of Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic and Assyrian(Syriacs) people.

View from Mardin to the Mesopotamian plains

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.^[4]

The old town of Midyat, second city of the province

Unemployment and poverty are serious problems^{[citation needed]}, and there has been considerable out migration to western and southern Turkey, although the reduction in political violence^{[clarification needed]}, 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^{[citation needed]}.

Mardin comes from the Syriac word (ܡܪܕܐ) and means "fortresses". ^[5][6]

Districts

Mardin province is divided into 10 districts (capital district in 'bold):

• Dargeçit
• Derik
• Kızıltepe
• Mardin
• Mazıdağı
• Midyat
• Nusaybin
• Ömerli Ma'asarte
• Savur
• Yeşilli

References

1. ^ Turkish Statistical Institute, MS Excel document – Population of province/district centers and towns/villages and population growth rate by provinces
2. ^ Statistical Institute
3. ^ Population of Mardin province
4. ^ Local election results, 2004
5. ^ Lipiński, Edward (2000). The Aramaeans: their ancient history, culture, religion. Peeters Publishers. p. 146. ISBN 9789042908598. http://books.google.com/books?id=rrMKKtiBBI4C&pg=PA146. 
6. ^ Payne Smith's A Compendious Syriac Ditcionary, Dukhrana.com

External links

• Mardin Weather Forecast Information
• Pictures of the capital of this province
• Articles about the Syriacs and photos of Midyat
• Mardin photos
• Tourism information is available in English at the Southeastern Anatolian Promotion Project site.
• Mardin Travel Guide

Coordinates: 37°21′47″N 40°54′31″E / 37.36306°N 40.90861°E / 37.36306; 40.90861