A brief information about Mardin:
Mardin is a medium sized city that is located
in Southeastern part of Anatolia. It has borders with Şırnak, Siirt, Batman,
Diyarbekir and Şanlıurfa provinces. It is also located on historical trade
roads in both east-west (Silk Road) and south-north directions.[1]
Thus , it is ranked as one of the oldest
cities in upper Mesopotamia.
In terms of climate, Mardin has both
Mediterranean and Continental climatic conditions. Therefore , summers are hot and dry whereas winters are wet and cold.[2]
Introduction
A recent research revealed that Mardin has
4000 years historic background. It a meeting point of planty of civilations. Hence,
it has rich cultural resources, in addition it has natural beauties for
tourism. However,Mardin can be
considered as major destinition of heritage tourism. Each year many tourists
come to Mardin to visit this rich heritage resources. The existance of the city mosques, mausoleums,
churches, monasteries and similar religious structures prove the diversity of
religions and beliefs. Additionally , Arabs,Kurds,Assyrians, Armenians, and
Turks have been living peacefully fo centuries.
What makes Mardin famous for tourism is
its Stone Houses. These houses have unique characteristics. These Stone houses
are the best indicators of cultural wealth. In side of these houses are cool
during hot summers , whereas they are warm period of winters. Moreover, these
houses have an aesthetic and stunning appearance. Due to these Stones can be
shaped easily,early people made very beatiful graphics and decorations on the surface
of houses.
Even though, all the beauties , cultural
and natural resources which Mardin has, we do not see high tourism potential in
this lovely city. Unfortunatly,these richness
does not make Mardin as ‘Tourist City’ Mardin does not host convenient
number of tourists due to some of
problems. These problems are can be grouped into five reasons by their
solutions:
- Lack of enough infrastructure,
- Effect of terrorism,
- Lack of enough advertisement,
- Lack recreational activities,
- Uneven distribution of tourism investments.
Lack of enough infrastructures
Like every city of Easten Anatolia, Mardin
has some problems that prevent its development. As Elif GÜNDÜZ and Rahmi ERDEM
said ‘ In Mardin, effective planning,
management and control are a precondition for a sound relationship between
cultural heritage, conservation and tourism’[3].
Firstly, tranportation is leading problem of tourism. Due to location of
it, there is no enough transportation
roads such as railways and highways. Especially, there is not any direct
connection to Mardin by railway. It is same for air transportation, Mardin
airport is for domestic flights. The tourists who come from other countries must firstly stop in another airport and then
have to fly to Mardin. That makes more difficult to arrive Mardin. For example,
when tourists from Middle East countries want to visit Mardin they should first
come to Adana or another close provinces .
Secondly, as the fate of other Eastern
Anatolia cities, Mardin faces to some obstacles of development tourism such as
urban and rural infrastructure, forestry, education and health problems. In
addition , there is no water system and inefficiency in planning and management of
water that help development of tourism in Mardin.
The possible solutions;
Initially, although Mardin has such problems
about infrastructure they can be overcome easily by goverment. Already , there
is a Project has carried out by goverment for years. This Project known as GAP
(The Southeastern Anatolia Project), The basic strategies of the project include fairness in
development, participation, environmental protection, employment generation,
spatial planning and infrastructure development.[4]
The goverment should subsize this Project
and finish fast as much as possible. Morever The Mardin Airport should be
internatiolized for foreign tourists. And there should be built high speed
railway from Ankara to Mardin.
The Effect of terrorism
Turkey is one of the unfortunate countries
for which has been faceing with terrorism for 30 years . As known, there is a
ethnic separatist terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers' Party(PKK) revolt against to the system of Turkey
policy. The PKK attacks army and
citizens in the villages, recently in
the urban areas. Naturaly , this big problem has some negative effects on
development of tourism. The tourist want to visit the ares where safe to live.
Therefore,Mardin took a disadvantages for its tourim development, even though terrorist
attacks and activities rarely occur, but due to its located to close to the
most dangerous provinces such as Şırnak,Siirt and Van.
The possible solutions;
Firstly,the goverment should do what they
can do as much as posibble to minimize effect of terrorism on Eastern
provinces. We can not say what the goverment should do, it is not our job, but some
precautions must be taken. Secondly,the tourist shoul be informed about that Mardin is not a place
where terrorism dominant city.
Lack of Advertisements,
Another important issue to develop tourism
in an area,creating brand city and adversiments. Turkey’ s tourism is in itself
suffer from be unknown in the world tourism. Correspondingly, Mardin has
suffered from same problem. Unfortunatly , even the potential tourism of Mardin
is not well known in the among Turkish people due to isolation location of it.
Currently, Mardin has tried to enter UNESCO World Heritage list. As Aydın
Ayaydın said if Mardin enter the UNESCO the tourism sector in the southeast of
Turkey, perhaps the first time, it will contribute the socio-economic
developments.[5]
In addition,last month there was a meeting about Mardin and other eastern
provinces convened by goverment In Mardin,April 9.[6]
The argument was how to develop tourism Mardin and additionaly in other eastern
provinces.
The possible solutions;
Mardin is candidate to be the most populer
in heritage tourism city in the Turkey. Hence,the goverment and private sectors
should efford to make Mardin known not only in Turkey, also in the World by effective
advirtisements. Because, in the last
decades the herirage tourism has became very popular among developed countries.
Therefore the developed countries should be drawn to visit Mardin by ads.
Lack of recreation activities
The tourists want to some recreational
activities such as hotels, restaurants, sport apportunities,shopping area in
tourism place. Since the people of Mardin are mostly consist from poor people,
they can not support to needs of coming tourists. The touristic subjects are mostly
located in the city and urban development of Mardin is insufficent.
Naturaly,this problem has affected urban heritage tourism in the Mardin.
The possible solutions;
Unfortunatly, Turkey has an uneven
distribution of tourism recreation activities over cities. Most of invertors
focuse only of particular cities such as İstanbul,Izmir and Antalya. They
ignore city which has potential tourism activities as Mardin, because most of
recreational activities must be guided by private investors. Turkey Cultural
and Tourism Ministery has focused in the same point and the ministery organize
problems into three categories;
-
Mediterranean and Aegean coastal parts of the over-accumulation,
- Coastal
and the surrounding areas, the rest is unplanned urbanization / construction,
- Lack of
infrastructure and environmental problems have emerged.
Turkey
Ministery of tourism try to come over the such problems.[7]
In conclusion
In the recet times, the heritage tourism is
becoming well-recognized over the World,
therefore Mardin in the future will be the most famous place for heritage
tourism. We are waiting in this hope when Mardin experience its happy days. As
mentioned at the begining of article Mardin has rich, diversty and old culturel
sources for herigate toursim,thats why bright days waiting for Mardin after overcoming
such problems. The goverment and private sectors should notice that
point,because Mardin is candidate to be city like lstanbul in terms of tourism
activities. Because all conditions are suitable for developing of tourism in
Mardin such as transportation and infrastructure. All problems which mention
above can be solve by investment and Money.
Rauf Belge
REFERENCE
- Anonymous, 2002, Mardin, UNESCO Dünya Miras Komitesi Değerlendirme Raporu,Ankara.
- http://www.mardin.gov.tr/web/mardinvaliligi/detay.asp?id=124&kategori=MARD%DDN&album=CO%D0RAFYASI
- http://tr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dosya:Turkey_(orthographic_projection).svg&filetimestamp=20090915134232
- OBSTACLES TO HERITAGE TOURISM PLANNING: SOCIO -SPATIAL PLANNING
- PROBLEMS IN MARDİN(2011)-R,ERDEM,E,GÜNDÜZ.
- http://www.gap.gov.tr/about-gap/what-is-gap
- http://haber.gazetevatan.com/Mardin_UNESCOya_dogru/228322/4/Haber
- http://www.turizmguncel.com/haber/kultur-ve-turizm-bakanligi-mardinde-tanitim-atagi-baslatti-h10237.html
- http://www.sp.gov.tr/documents/Turizm_Strateji_2023.pdf
