This project does not aim to restore the abandoned village, but to propose new ways of relating to it. The route offers not only a physical path but also a narrative connecting past and present, intertwined with daily life and nature.

 

Beginning at the village square, visitors move through the former market area where traditional crafts are reproduced, and along passages inspired by Mardin’s characteristic abbaras, which strengthen spatial identity and provide shade. Viticulture areas invite visitors to participate in production and tasting experiences. Ruined mansions are approached either from within, through contemporary additions, or from a distance, revealing the balance between intervention and decay.

 

The triangle of churches expresses the village’s multi-layered identity and coexistence. An event area becomes a new public heart, while agricultural gardens and workshops revive production. The visitor center and its memory tower conclude the cyclical journey, framing ruins as living fields of collective memory and renewed meaning.

 

By reworking traces through the habits of the past, it aims to establish spatial continuity and to transform the ghost village into a place that produces new meanings.

Client | Terraviva

Location |

Mardin, Turkey

Year | 2026

Type | International Architecture Competition

Living Ruins II

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Program | 

Open-air Museum

Visitor Center

Heritage ​

Size | 113.946 m²

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Team | 

Belen Güven, Beyza Ertek,

Bükre Pazar, Ece Engin