21 · City guide
Diyarbakır
City of basalt walls, the Hevsel Gardens and the Tigris
Diyarbakır was built on a basalt plateau overlooking the valley on the west bank of the Tigris; its ancient name was Amida. The black basalt walls, about 5 kilometers long with more than 80 towers, which encircle Suriçi (Sur district), were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 together with the Hevsel Gardens in the Tigris valley. Within the walls you can explore on foot the Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque), one of the oldest mosques in Anatolia, the Hasan Paşa Han, the Zinciriye and Mesudiye madrasas, the Surp Giragos and Meryem Ana (Virgin Mary) churches, the Cemil Paşa Mansion, and the houses of Ziya Gökalp and Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı; the Archaeology Museum in the İç Kale (Inner Citadel) tells the region's history starting from the Neolithic period. South of the city, the On Gözlü Köprü (Ten-Arched Bridge) over the Tigris dates from the 11th century. The Roman garrison of Zerzevan in Çınar, the castle and the Prophets' Tombs in Eğil, and the Malabadi Bridge on the Silvan border make for day trips within the province. Ciğer kebabı (liver kebab), kaburga dolması (stuffed lamb ribs), meftune and burma kadayıf (rolled shredded-pastry dessert) are the highlights of the cuisine.
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Places
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Where shall we explore?
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Ahmed Arif Literature Museum Library
Sur, Diyarbakır
A courtyard mansion museum-library dedicated to the poet Ahmed Arif, displaying his personal belongings and handwritten poems.
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Behram Paşa Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A basalt Ottoman mosque attributed to Mimar Sinan, built between 1564 and 1572 by Governor Behram Paşa.
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Birkleyn Caves and the Tigris Tunnel
Lice, Diyarbakır
A natural tunnel through which a tributary of the Tigris flows, and caves bearing inscriptions and reliefs of Assyrian kings.
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Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum
Sur, Diyarbakır
A Diyarbakır courtyard house dated 1733, divided into seasonal sections, where the poet Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı was born.
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Çayönü Tepesi
Ergani, Diyarbakır
A Neolithic settlement about 12,000 years old that continuously documents the transition from hunting and gathering to farming.
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Cemil Paşa Mansion (City Museum)
Sur, Diyarbakır
A 42-room basalt mansion with harem and selamlık sections; today used as the Diyarbakır City Museum.
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Hot spring
Çermik Hot Springs
Çermik, Diyarbakır
Thermal springs that gave the district its name, used since the Middle Ages, home to the historic Büyük Paşa and Küçük Paşa baths.
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Mosque
Çermik Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Çermik, Diyarbakır
A mosque built in two separate periods, its portal surviving from the Artuqid period, also known as the Sultan Alaaddin Mosque.
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Bridge
Çüngüş Bridge
Çüngüş, Diyarbakır
A historic single-span stone bridge with a pointed arch over the Çüngüş Stream, its piers resting on natural rock.
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Cultural center
Dengbêj House
Sur, Diyarbakır
A historic house in Sur where dengbêjs gather, opened to keep alive the dengbêj tradition of oral narrative and song.
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Bridge
Devegeçidi Bridge
Yenişehir, Diyarbakır
A historic bridge with black stone facing over the Devegeçidi Stream, about 20 km north of the city, and the picnic area around it.
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Dicle Dam Lake (Eğil shore)
Eğil, Diyarbakır
The shore of the Dicle Dam Lake at the foot of Eğil Castle, filling a canyon-like valley; known for boat trips and water sports.
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Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum
Sur, Diyarbakır
A museum in historic buildings in İç Kale displaying finds from regional excavations, from Körtik Tepe to Zerzevan.
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Diyarbakır City Walls
Sur, Diyarbakır
Basalt city walls on the UNESCO World Heritage List, enclosing the walled city (Suriçi) with four main gates and dozens of towers.
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Diyarbakır Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Sur, Diyarbakır
The Ulu Mosque, considered one of the oldest mosques in Anatolia, forming an ensemble with the Mesudiye and Zinciriye madrasas.
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Eğil Castle and Rock Tombs
Eğil, Diyarbakır
A castle of Assyrian origin on a monolithic rock surrounded on three sides by deep valleys; its west face bears a relief of a king with a cuneiform inscription.
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Fatih Paşa (Kurşunlu) Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A mosque known for its lead-clad dome, built in 1516–1520 by Bıyıklı Mehmed Paşa, the city's first Ottoman governor.
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Gazi Pavilion (Gazi Köşkü)
Yenişehir, Diyarbakır
An Akkoyunlu-period pavilion among the gardens of the Tigris valley, used by Atatürk as his headquarters in 1916–1917.
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Bridge
Haburman Bridge
Çermik, Diyarbakır
A single large-arched stone bridge over the Sinek Stream, commissioned in 1179–80 by the Artuqid princess Zübeyde Hatun.
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Mosque
Hani Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Hani, Diyarbakır
A historic mosque of yellow limestone with a flat roof, north of the Aynü'l Kebir spring, restored in 2022.
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Hasan Paşa Han
Sur, Diyarbakır
A two-story Ottoman han opposite the Ulu Mosque, built between 1572 and 1575 by Vezirzade Hasan Paşa.
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Hasuni Caves
Silvan, Diyarbakır
A historic valley settlement northeast of Silvan, made up of about 300 cave dwellings and cisterns carved into limestone.
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Hazreti Süleyman Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A mosque dated 1160 leaning against the walls of İç Kale, an important place of pilgrimage with its tomb containing the graves of Companions of the Prophet.
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Mosque
Hazro Ulu Mosque (Grand Mosque)
Hazro, Diyarbakır
A historic mosque in the Hazro district center, whose original single-domed square plan was enlarged with later additions.
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Hevsel Gardens
Sur, Diyarbakır
UNESCO-listed gardens stretching between the city walls and the Tigris, which have fed the city for thousands of years and provide a habitat for birds.
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Hilar Caves (Rock Tombs)
Ergani, Diyarbakır
Rock-cut caves just south of Çayönü, used as tombs between AD 100 and 325; registered as an archaeological site in 2024.
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İç Kale (Inner Citadel)
Sur, Diyarbakır
A walled inner citadel regarded as the city's first settlement, home to the Amida Mound, the Artuqid Arch and museum buildings.
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İskender Paşa Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A single-domed 16th-century mosque with alternating black-and-white stone walls, commissioned by Governor Çerkes İskender Paşa.
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Castle
Kefrum Castle
Kulp, Diyarbakır
A structure with inner and outer castles on a steep height in Kulp, known as the only castle in the region with walls of brick.
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Mosque
Lice Ulu Mosque (Vakıf Ahmet Bey Mosque)
Lice, Diyarbakır
A historic white-stone mosque built in 1540 by Vakıf Ahmet Bey, emir of Atak, which also contains the founder's grave.
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Malabadi Bridge
Silvan, Diyarbakır
A bridge over the Batman Stream built in 1147 by the Artuqid Timurtaş, one of the widest-span stone bridges in the world with its giant pointed arch.
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Mar Petyun Chaldean Church
Sur, Diyarbakır
A Chaldean Catholic church built in the 17th century, still in use in Diyarbakır by its small community.
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Melek Ahmed Paşa Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A two-story Ottoman mosque with a tiled mihrab, vaulted spaces on its ground floor and an abbara passage to the street.
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Virgin Mary Ancient Syriac Church (Meryem Ana Süryani Kadim Kilisesi)
Sur, Diyarbakır
An active Syriac Orthodox church with two courtyards, believed to date back to the 3rd century.
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Nebî Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
A single-domed Akkoyunlu-period mosque near Dağ Kapı, known for its minaret with alternating black and white stone courses.
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Ten-Eyed (Tigris) Bridge (On Gözlü Köprü)
Yenişehir, Diyarbakır
A basalt bridge from the Marwanid period with an inscription dated 1065, stretching across the Tigris on ten arches.
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Safa (Parlı) Mosque
Sur, Diyarbakır
An Akkoyunlu mosque attributed to the reign of Uzun Hasan, known for its decorated minaret and bright interior.
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Şeyh Mutahhar Mosque and the Four-Legged Minaret
Sur, Diyarbakır
An Akkoyunlu mosque famous for its minaret rising on four slender stone columns, regarded as the only one of its kind in Anatolia.
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Silvan Ulu Mosque (Selahaddin-i Eyyubi Mosque)
Silvan, Diyarbakır
A pioneering Anatolian mosque with a large dome in front of the mihrab, built in 1152–1157 by the Artuqid ruler Necmeddin Alpi.
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Surp Giragos Armenian Church
Sur, Diyarbakır
A historic church considered one of the largest Armenian churches in the Middle East, reopened in 2022 after restoration.
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Nature park
Yabanardıl Şeyhandede Nature Park
Çermik, Diyarbakır
A nature park declared in 2021, encompassing the Şeyhandede and Yabanardı waterfalls that pour over basalt columns.
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Zerzevan Castle and Mithras Temple
Çınar, Diyarbakır
A Roman frontier garrison on a rocky hill on the Diyarbakır–Mardin road, famous for its underground Mithras temple.
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Ziya Gökalp Museum
Sur, Diyarbakır
A two-story basalt Diyarbakır house where the sociologist and writer Ziya Gökalp was born in 1876, a museum since 1956.
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Tombs of the Prophets on Ziyaret Hill (Prophet Zülkifl and Prophet Elyesa)
Eğil, Diyarbakır
The graves of the prophets Zülkifl and Elyesa, moved to Ziyaret Hill in 1995 so that they would not be submerged by the dam waters.
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Faith
Mount Zülküf (Makam Dağı)
Ergani, Diyarbakır
A twin-peaked mountain north of Ergani with the shrine of the Prophet Zülküf, the ruined Church of the Virgin Mary and castle remains.
Practical information
Machine translated — This content was machine-translated and may differ from the original Turkish text.- Note
- Visit mosques and churches outside prayer and service times and in appropriate clothing; check muze.gov.tr for current museum hours
- Climate
- Continental climate; summers are very hot and dry, winters cold and wet
- Best time
- April–May and September–October; in midsummer temperatures often exceed 40 °C
- Getting there
- Diyarbakır Airport is about 11 km from the city center; there are road connections toward Şanlıurfa, Elazığ, Mardin and Batman, as well as a railway line
- Getting around
- The buildings in Suriçi are within walking distance, starting from Dağkapı; the On Gözlü Bridge and Hevsel require a short taxi or dolmuş (shared minibus) ride, and a private car or tour is recommended for Zerzevan and Eğil