The madrasa stands in the Medrese quarter, just below the citadel, and was commissioned in 1385 by Melik Necmeddin İsa.
It carries a second name, Sultan Isa Madrasa, which comes from its founder's later history: Melik İsa fought Tamerlane's army and was held prisoner in this building for a time. His shrine is inside, along with a number of old inscriptions.
The building has served other purposes because of where it sits. Its height above the town made it useful as an observatory, and the Mardin Museum was housed here before moving to its present home.
The plan is double-courtyarded and set on two levels. The carving of the main portal and the segmented domes are the parts worth slowing down for, and the terrace gives the long view over Mardin.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Mardin as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 3.1 °C in January to 29.9 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May and October; rainfall is heaviest in January (114 mm) and lightest in August (2 mm). Long-term means for 1940-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
