Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum

Sakıp Sabancı Mardin City Museum is a museum that documents the historical, cultural and social heritage of Mardin and thematically explores urban life. The museum was established in 2009 through a collaboration between the Sabancı Foundation and the Mardin Governorship. Mardin’s layered cultural structure, the coexistence of different faiths and ethnic groups, traditional professions and everyday life practices form the museum’s core themes.

The museum was created through the restoration of a historic stone mansion built in the late 19th century in the Artuklu district of central Mardin. The building’s original architecture has been preserved and converted into exhibition spaces; the courtyard, terraces and interior rooms have been adapted for thematic displays. The stonework, arched passageways and narrow corridors of the building reflect Mardin’s traditional civil architecture.

^{Mardin Sakıp Sabancı City Museum (}Ministry of Culture and Tourism⁾

The museum was established to record Mardin’s urban identity and multicultural history, transmit this heritage to new generations and make it accessible to visitors. It was developed as part of the Sabancı Foundation’s efforts to preserve cultural heritage.

The museum fulfills three primary functions through its permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibition spaces and educational activities. The collection primarily consists of oral history recordings, ethnographic objects, photographs, documents and audiovisual materials.

Main thematic sections include:

• Urban Culture Section: Mardin’s traditional way of life, neighborhood structure, wedding and holiday customs
• Crafts and Trades: Local professions such as coppersmithing, stonemasonry and soap making
• Belief and Space: The shared life of Muslim, Christian and Yazidi communities in Mardin
• Sakıp Sabancı Memorial Room: A room dedicated to the foundation’s founder, featuring biographical materials and documentation of the donation process
• Media Area: Oral history recordings, video presentations and city panoramas

^{Mardin Sakıp Sabancı City Museum (}Ministry of Culture and Tourism⁾

The museum organizes educational activities throughout the year for children, youth and researchers. Workshops, guided tours, thematic seminars and short-term training programs on urban history are among the museum’s regular activities.

The museum is supported by the Sabancı Foundation and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The museum also includes a section known as the Dilek Sabancı Art Gallery, which hosts temporary exhibitions.