Tsui · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & license
First Avenue & Abbara Passages
The main east-west thoroughfare slicing across Old Mardin and the vaulted stone abbara tunnels passing beneath historic houses.
Running parallel to the hillside, First Avenue forms the daily spine of Old Mardin with silver filigree workshops, almond-sweet shops, stone mansions, and lookout cafés. Branching off the avenue are steep stepped lanes threaded through vaulted stone tunnels known as abbaras, which carry private rooms overhead while keeping the public footpath open below. Cool in summer and sheltered in winter, these passages create dramatic light-and-shadow frames.
Why visit
To walk through the vaulted stone abbaras beneath historic homes and follow the craft rhythm along level First Avenue.
Pause at the south-facing gaps along First Avenue to look out over the layered domes and plain below.
