I hitchhiked from Şanlıurfa to Kızıltepe with a truck and continued by bus to Mardin. My truck driver paid the bus to Mardin, as it was not on his route and he agreed to drive me to Mardin (It's not possible to decline a offer to get something paid in Turkey).

Mardin is a historic city built into a mountain at the edge of the Mesopotamian flats with a nice views over Mesopotamya. It features mosques, churches and a university.

  • Yenişehir (new city) of Mardin

  • Very narrow streets, a bit too narrow for some cars/drivers :)

  • The old town of Mardin at the planes of Mesopotamya in the background

  • The citadel of Mardin

My Couchsurfers were people trying to escape the reach of their family, because they don't give them much freedom. They were talking only little english and I found myself again in teaching some english words.

They showed me the full scope of turkish and kurdish hospitality by giving me way too much food. I had to eat all the food. At some point I started to stop eating long before I was full, so they made me only eat twice as much as I needed :)

  • Dinner prepared by my host

  • Breakfast made by the girlfriend of my host