An Ancient City Finds New Life In Modern Art.

ON a searingly hot Saturday in early June, a small crowd of residents and tourists stood inside the entryway of the 14th-century Zinciriye Medresesi, a mosque and former medrese, or center of Islamic study, in Mardin, an ancient town in southeastern Turkey. Hanging in a row on a wall beneath the narrow room's vaulted ceiling were front pages from recent issues of Turkish, French and British newspapers. Each was missing a headline, and visitors took turns inscribing their own on strips of paper stacked beneath the display. ''Obama, We Don't Need You,'' scrawled a teenage boy, commenting on recent friction between the Turkish and United States governments over Israel's handling of the Gaza aid flotilla. ''Antalya Doctors Arrive in Mardin!'' wrote a smartly dressed medical conference attendee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]