Firdevs Kasrı/Qasr al Firdaws

Firdevs Kasri/Qasr al Firdaws is built of finely cut ashlar blocks of a local, rose-yellow limestone. It is oriented with its facade to the south, as is typical of houses in Mardin, with a view over the foothills toward the Mesopotamian plain (see the panorama). The design of its main wing centers on a pointed iwan fronted with a wider, paved court and beyond this, an even larger pool. This type of layout is common to most of Mardin’s country houses. 

The central iwan, providing a shady area for leisure and relaxation, measures 6.7 m wide by 7.5 m tall (the size of the iwan serving as a marker of wealth at this time; Firdevs’ is the largest of its kind). The deep iwan features three pointed niches on its rear wall. A fountain situated at the bottom of the central niche spouts water into a slender interior pool, known as a selsebil, running down the center of the space. The water descends into a stone basin (cırın) before being channeled through a small pool in the forecourt and emptying into the large pool (birke).

The house’s main wing was originally symmetrical, with two smaller iwans flanking the larger one. Both of these were later walled, transforming them into interior spaces opened only with small doors and windows; the western iwan has also been divided off from the rest of the facade by a wall built along the forecourt. Both of the flanking iwans have second floors—the living quarters of the house—now accessed by way of staircases on the building’s sides and rear. 

A second wing of the house runs south along the west side of the grounds; this is a service and stable area. Together, the solid exterior walls of the two inward-facing wings comprised the north and west sides the complex’s perimeter; its fortification was completed by a separate wall that ran along the south and east sides of the grounds. This perimeter wall was leveled at some time subsequent to the original construction, most likely to open up the house’s spectacular views.