5 Nights / 6 Days
Eastern Anatolia & Ancient Kingdoms
5 Nights | 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — honey-colored limestone, Akdamar Island and the haunting ruins of Ani.
Turkey / Other
Kasımiye Madrasa
A 12th-century stone madrasa in Mardin's old quarter, with carved portals, a shaded courtyard and traces of centuries of Islamic learning.
Stone steps rise from one of the narrow lanes that wind through Mardin's old quarter, and at the top, a massive arched portal opens into the Kasımiye Madrasa. The limestone walls, worn smooth by centuries of wind and hands, enclose a courtyard that feels removed from the city below. The air is quieter here, the light softened by the deep overhanging eaves of the surrounding cells.
The architecture
The madrasa follows the traditional four-iwan plan: a rectangular courtyard with vaulted chambers on each side, the largest iwan facing the entrance. The stone carving is the most striking element — geometric patterns run in bands along the doorways and window frames, and the lower walls carry relief work that catches the morning light. Vaulted cells line the eastern and western wings, each with a small window and a stone bench. In the centre, a shallow pool of water, when present, mirrors the sky above. The builders worked in the honey-coloured limestone local to the Mardin plateau, and the colour deepens from pale cream at dawn to warm amber by late afternoon.
Life inside the madrasa
Madrasas like this one were places of study and daily living. Students slept and ate in the cells, attended lectures in the iwans, and moved through the courtyard as their schedules dictated. The rhythmic organization of the space — ordered, shaded, measured — was deliberate, designed to structure time and attention around the text. Whatever is displayed or taught here today, the physical bones of that routine remain visible in the layout: the repetition of the cells, the sheltered alcoves, the way the courtyard funnels attention inward.
Mardin and its madrasas
Mardin sits on a limestone plateau above the Mesopotamian plain, a city where the stepped streets climb between Assyrian churches, Kurdish houses, and Sunni mosques, all built in the same pale stone. Several madrasas survive in the old quarter, each adapted over the centuries to changing uses. The Kasımiye stands among them — quieter than some, less visited, its courtyard often empty. Walking back down to the street, the city reasserts itself: the smell of bread from a nearby bakery, the view south across the plain where the horizon is flat and very far away.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Kasımiye Madrasa Other
Tours that visit Kasımiye Madrasa
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11 Nights / 12 Days
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The Ultimate Journey Across Turkey
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Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
