This ancient Turkish city moves its beds to the roof

In Mardin, a hilltop city in southeastern Türkiye near the Syrian border, summer temperatures climb past 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

As daylight fades, residents turn to a centuries-old escape: raised rooftop platforms called "tahts"—elevated daybeds, roughly one meter high, built for sitting, dining and sleeping outdoors—where the day's heat gives way to open sky and cooler air.

By afternoon, Mardin's narrow stone streets radiate heat retained from the day's sun. The city, often described as an open-air museum for its historic architecture, sees little relief until evening, when temperatures finally begin to drop across the hillside settlement overlooking the Mesopotamian plain.

As sunset approaches, residents climb to their rooftops, where wooden platforms roughly one meter high, known locally as tahts, have stood for generations.

The custom follows the rhythm of the season, with households preparing the platforms for evening use as the day's heat subsides.

On the rooftop, tea and coffee accompany conversation as families gather above the city. Meals are served with views over Mardin's stone rooftops and the plain beyond, turning the evening routine into a shared ritual that marks the transition from a hot day to a cool night.

Munip Mungan, who spends part of each year in Mardin, said he sometimes travels 1,200 kilometers (746 miles) just to sleep on the rooftop platform his family has used for generations.

He described falling asleep early beneath clear skies, in air he called impossible to replicate elsewhere.

For families like that of Esra Atmaca, the rooftop routine spans generations. 

Beds are carried up as evening falls, conversation continues in the cooling air between the stone houses, and the day's fatigue fades before sleep arrives under a sky Atmaca described as consistently clear and full of stars.

Even young visitors take part in the tradition. Azra Olgac, an eight-year-old visiting her grandfather's house from Istanbul, said she looks forward to sleeping on the rooftop each summer, calling the experience one of the highlights of her annual visit to Mardin.

Some Mardin hotels have begun offering the rooftop experience to guests. 

Seckin Acar, head of the Mardin Hoteliers and Tourism Association, said visitors increasingly ask whether they can sleep outdoors, prompting several properties to set up platforms for dining and relaxation, with overnight stays planned for the future.

For visitors like Dilan Abatan, who traveled from Diyarbakir, a city roughly 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Mardin in southeastern Türkiye, the experience leaves a lasting impression.

Abatan described looking out over the Mesopotamian plain on one side and Mardin Castle on the other, beneath a star-filled sky, calling the city's atmosphere unlike anywhere else.