Many religions and languages have coexisted in peace for seven millennia in the south-eastern Anatolian city of Mardin. The city was added to a tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the local authorities have worked hard in recent years to transform it into what it was around a century ago, under a Historic Transition Project supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Within this context, a total of 700 modern buildings interfering with the historic skyline are being demolished.

The aims of the project supported by the EU and its core activities:

The purpose of the project was to support Mardin’s efforts to increase the tourism sector’s contributions to the local economy.

This involved developing a sustainable tourism strategy, an action plan to implement it, and an efficient governance model to oversee it.

National and international branding and promotion campaigns were also carried out.

In addition, the physical tourism infrastructure of Mardin was improved. To this end, renovation was carried out on the external façades of almost all of the buildings along the main street of the historical centre of the town (2.7 km), which hosts 73 registered historical structures. Standard signage, shutter, and sun-blind systems were also applied along the same street.