This superbly restored late-19th-century mansion was once Mardin's Syriac Catholic Patriarchate and sports carved pillars and elegant arcades on the upper floor. Today it houses Mardin's archaeological collection with well-curated exhibits that include finds from the salvage excavations of archaeological sites destroyed by the construction of the Ilısu Dam and a beautifully exhibited collection of idols and cult vessels, many from the Bronze Age site of Girnavaz, in the Beliefs Hall.
There is a good cafe on the museum's terrace.
East along 1 Caddesi is the beautiful three-arched facade of the ornately carved Şahkulubey Mansion.