MARDIN, Turkey - The medieval Kurdish city of Mardin in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey heavily relies on travel and tourism for its economy but local businesses are now decrying the drastic devaluation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar which has hard hit locals of the area.
Since the removal of the total shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the cities of Turkey's Kurdish southeast have begun to recover from the shock of the global crisis with local authorities reporting an increase in the number of tourists visiting the area.
However, despite the high number of tourists, the economic crisis that has hit Turkey is leaving the area with a low income, even though all the hotels in the city are said to be full.
“We rely on tourists. If they come, we have a good job, if not, we cannot make a good profit,” local business owner Aydin Yertum told Rudaw on Monday.
Among the cities of Turkey’s Kurdish region, Mardin is the city most visited by tourists. The city's architecture, intellectual centers, and religious, historical, and natural places make tourists from many places come to this city not only in the summer but the entire year.
"Mardin is an old city, including its bazaars, mosques, and churches. Whichever religion or nation they [tourists and visitors] come from, they find a part of themselves in it,” Mardin’s President of the Association of Tourists and Hoteliers Ozgur Gregor said.
There are more than 200 tourist spots in the city and all of them are running at full capacity.
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