Russian tourists end up in Türkiye’s Mardin instead of Madrid

MARDİN

A Russian travel agency has mistakenly sent clients to the Turkish province of Mardin instead of the Spanish capital, Madrid, twice.

Russian tourists were shocked at what they saw when they got off the plane. They stayed in Mardin for one night and then were transferred to Madrid.

The agency repeated the same mistake 10 days later and sent a tourist group of three to Mardin instead of Madrid.

“They were fascinated when they saw the city’s beauty,” said Arslan Paşaoğlu, the head of the Mardin Tourism Management Associaton.

“When we heard about the incident, we helped and hosted them in one of our members’ hotel. They returned to Madrid by connecting flight the next day,” he added.

Stating that they hosted another tourist group of three people for three days after the same mistake was made again, Paşaoğlu said, “They [tourists] left saying that they would come again later.”

“They have come to the right place. Mardin is a beautiful city. The tourists did the right thing by coming here instead of going to Madrid,” said Musa Ekici, a Turkish tourist.

“The tourists were lucky. Mardin is Turkish Madrid,” said Yusuf Cellat, another Turkish tourist.

Mardin is known for its Artuqid architecture and strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris River that rises steeply over the flat plains.

The old town in the city is under the protection of UNESCO, which forbids new constructions to preserve its facade.