Opened in 2001 as Mardin’s first touristic establishment within a 130-year-old stone building, Cercis Murat Konağı was far more than the launch of a restaurant—it marked a bold beginning that touched the destiny of an entire city. This historic mansion became not only a place where food was prepared, but a space of transformation where women’s knowledge, labour, and intuition were made visible. For Chef Ebru Baybara Demir, the journey meant telling the story of Mardin through the power of local cuisine, turning the table into a tool for development and hope, and demonstrating that a city’s future can be reshaped through women’s hands.
Mardin is an ancient geography where different languages, beliefs, and ways of life have coexisted side by side for centuries. The kitchen of Cercis Murat Konağı draws its inspiration directly from this rich cultural heritage. From the very first day, the aim was to revive forgotten local recipes, highlight the women who carried this culinary knowledge, and blend traditional presentations with the texture of a chef-driven restaurant rooted in cultural memory.
In this kitchen, dishes were not merely cooked—they were listened to, questioned, and passed on. Techniques learned from neighbouring cuisines, ingredients sourced from nearby villages, the rhythm of the seasons, and the language of the land all found their way onto the plates. A direct relationship with local producers became the foundation of the kitchen. Each dish carried the labour and story of its geography.
Over the years, Cercis Murat Konağı evolved into a narrative that travelled from Mardin to the world. The tables set here reminded guests that gastronomy is not only about flavour, but also about belonging, solidarity, and healing. The step taken in 2001 planted the first seeds of what is now known as social gastronomy.
Cercis Murat Konağı still exists with the same question at its heart:
How many lives can a single plate change?