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
Zinciriye Madrasa
A medieval stone madrasa on MARDİN's hillside, where carved portals frame quiet courtyards and centuries of learning linger in cool, shadowed rooms.
On the mid-slope of Mardin's old city, where limestone buildings catch the afternoon light in warm honey tones, the Zinciriye Madrasa stands as one of the city's historic centres of learning. Mardin itself rises above the Mesopotamian plains—a hill city of narrow lanes, stepped terraces and overlapping histories where Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities built alongside each other for generations.
Architecture in Stone
The madrasa was constructed using the pale limestone that defines Mardin's built environment. Like other historic madrasas here, it follows a traditional plan built around a central courtyard, with student cells lining the perimeter and a main iwan— a high vaulted hall opening onto the court—serving as the primary teaching space. The portal entrance, framed by geometric stone carving, reflects the craftsmanship of the period. The thick walls keep the interior cool in summer, a practical response to the hot lowland climate below.
Life in a Medieval School
Madrasas like this one were institutions of higher Islamic learning, housing students who studied the Quran, jurisprudence, theology and Arabic grammar. The Zinciriye would have held a small community of scholars and students living in modest cells opening off the courtyard, sharing communal spaces and a rhythm of daily prayer and study. Such schools were woven into the fabric of Mardin for centuries.
Mardin Today
Visiting the Zinciriye means moving through a neighbourhood of old stone houses, some still inhabited, others standing quiet with their carved window screens and rooftop outlooks over the plains. The city rewards those who walk its steep lanes slowly, pausing at the interface of different architectural traditions—church bell towers beside minarets, Syriac stonework alongside Seljuk detailing. The Zinciriye Madrasa is part of that layered conversation, a place where the forms of devotion and study are written into the stone itself.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Zinciriye Madrasa Other
Tours that visit Zinciriye Madrasa
8 Nights / 9 Days
From Mesopotamia to the Caucasus
8 Nights | 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — Göbeklitepe, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
11 Nights / 12 Days
The Ultimate Eastern Turkey Expedition
11 Nights | 3 Cappadocia · 1 Gaziantep · 1 Şanlıurfa · 1 Diyarbakır · 3 Mardin · 1 Van · 1 Kars — fairy chimneys, Mount Nemrut, Mardin and the haunting ruins of Ani.
14 Nights / 15 Days
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.
