Kapadokya

Kapadokya

The vital cooperation of Diyarbakır Castle and Hevsel Gardens and the landscape created by Hevsel Gardens are the most important factors in the uninterrupted life of the city and the candidate for thousands of years.

 

Diyarbakir Fortress, Walls and Bastions, which have been shaped in line with the needs of the civilizations, cultures and periods that prevailed in the region, and maintain their originality and historical existence of 7 thousand years, still live as original and authentic cultural assets, and preserve their characteristic of an important universal heritage for world history.

At the 39th Term Meeting of the World Heritage Committee held in Bonn, Germany in 2015, it was decided to register the "Diyarbakir Walls and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape Area" to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

Diyarbakir Castle

The exact date of the first construction of Diyarbakır castle is not known. The foundation of the castle is as old as the history of the city and includes the addition and construction techniques of different periods. Located on the edge of the Tigris Valley, the castle surrounds the city according to the shape of the topography. Researchers stated that the fortification walls were reinforced with more than 75 bastions. However, today there are six of them. The walls had four gates facing the four cardinal directions. These doors; It was called the Urfa Gate in the west, the Mardin Gate in the south, the New Gate in the east, and the Harput Gate in the north. To the east of the castle, which was built of basalt stone, is the Inner Castle. The Citadel surrounds a mound. It is thought that the establishment of the Inner Castle is related to Mesopotamian cultures and was founded during the Hurrians.

 

Hevsel Gardens

Its first construction date goes back to 7,000 years ago, Hevsel Gardens, as a civil garden open to public use throughout its history, which is located in a geography where garden culture is very important, reveals a unique value. With its existence as a garden for 8 thousand years in a region bearing the traces of more than 30 civilizations, apart from its agricultural value, it also has a unique cultural and historical place.

The famous Diyarbakır watermelon, onion, arugula, lettuce, peach, apricot, apple, plum, pear, everything is grown in this paradise garden, which is integrated with the large Dicle University campus on the other side of the river. The 700-hectare gardens, which were formed by the decrease in the flow of the river, took names such as Hosel (Kurdish densely wooded area), Hevsel, Esfel. It has been the subject of many literary works such as Evliya Çelebi, Şemsedin Sami, Mehmed Uzun and Yaşar Kemal. Hevsel Gardens was nominated for UNESCO to be included in the World Heritage list in 2013. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2015.

 

Features of the Magical Diyarbakir Castle and Hevsel Gardens

Hevsel Gardens, too, has a unique value as an area open to the use of the public throughout its history, located in a geography where garden culture is very important.

The vital cooperation of Diyarbakır Castle and Hevsel Gardens and the landscape created by Hevsel Gardens are the most important factors in the uninterrupted life of the city and its gardens for thousands of years.
Diyarbakır Walls, one of the oldest and strongest structures in the world, have been the subject of many folk songs, poems and legends. It is one of the rarest places in the world with its magnificent reliefs and inscriptions on its bastions.

Diyarbakır Walls and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape Area were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in the cultural category by the 39th term UN World Heritage Committee convened in Bonn, Germany in 2015.

Diyarbakir Walls rising in the center of Sur district of Diyarbakir, consists of two parts, interior and exterior. This historical treasure, which has a history of approximately 7 thousand years, is known as the oldest city walls in the world after the Great Wall of China.

Places to visit in Diyarbakir

 

Sülüklü Han

Sülüklü Han, which opened its doors to its visitors after the restoration works completed in 2010, is located in the central Sur district of Diyarbakır. Its popularity has increased in recent times as it is close to more prominent structures such as the Ulu Mosque and Hasanpaşa Inn. Diyarbakır Sülüklü Han was built in 1683 by Hanilioğlu Mahmut Çelebi and his sister Atike Hatun.

 

Grand Mosque

At the top of the list of places to visit in Diyarbakır is the Great Mosque, which is accepted as the fifth Harem by the Islamic world. Ulu Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Anatolia, is known to have been converted from a church to a mosque in 639 by the Arab authorities. The Great Mosque, where restoration works were carried out in the past years, has survived to the present day.

 

Diyarbakir Walls

Diyarbakır Walls, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, are the second longest structure in the world after the Great Wall of China. Again, the length of the building, which completely encompasses the Sur district of Diyarbakır, is 5.5 km, and its height is around 7-8 meters. Although there is no exact date as to when the walls were built (it is said to have been built between 3000 - 4000 BC during the Huri period.

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