When planning a stay in Diyarbakır, it is worth considering two different perspectives: the city walls and the cultural landscape of the Hevsel Gardens. The UNESCO World Heritage Site includes 5,800 metres of walls; the fertile gardens connect the city to the Tigris and historically supplied it with food and water. Together, these themes offer two perspectives on the place: architectural heritage and the former relationship between the city, the river and its supplies.
City Walls and Hevsel Gardens
The city walls include numerous towers, gates, buttresses and 63 inscriptions from different historical periods. The individual elements make the architectural design tangible, while the inscriptions add a dimension of time. Those interested in history and architecture will find a combination of structural features and traces of different periods here.
The Hevsel Gardens add a fertile cultural landscape to the picture of the built city. Their connection to the Tigris and their historical role in supplying Diyarbakır with food and water illustrate the relationship between landscape and city. Unlike the walls, where length and structural features take centre stage, here the focus is on a former role in providing supplies.
Diyarbakır Ulu Cami
Diyarbakır Ulu Cami is one of the oldest mosques in Anatolia. It was established in 639 AD by converting Mar Toma Church, then the largest church in the city, into a mosque. Its origins connect a specific year with the former building, making the conversion an important way to explore the mosque’s history.
The complex is arranged around a large rectangular courtyard. The Hanefiler section lies to the south, the Şafiiler section and Mesûdiye Medrese to the north, Zinciriye Medrese to the west, and arcaded areas to the east. The cardinal directions give the description a clear spatial structure: the courtyard is the point of reference, with the named sections and medreses arranged around it. This makes it possible to consider Ulu Cami both through its origins and through the layout of its complex.
Two Museums, Different Timelines
The Ziya Gökalp Müzesi is located in the house where the sociologist and writer Ziya Gökalp was born in 1876. The two-storey basalt-stone building was constructed in 1806 and converted into a museum in 1956. Gökalp’s personal belongings and documents are displayed there. The dates 1806, 1876 and 1956 place the building’s history, birthplace and later museum function in chronological context.
A different sequence of events is central to the Cahit-Sıtkı-Tarancı-Kulturmuseum: the house was taken over from the Tarancı family by the Turkish Ministry of Culture in 1973, restored in 1974 and opened to visitors as a museum. Comparing the two museums reveals different historical starting points: at the Ziya Gökalp Müzesi, the construction date, birth and later conversion can be distinguished chronologically; at the Cahit-Sıtkı-Tarancı-Kulturmuseum, the museum’s history is shaped by its acquisition, restoration and opening.
A Walking Itinerary Suggestion
An itinerary suggested by GoTürkiye for 24 hours in Diyarbakır follows the city walls on foot towards Mardin Kapı. This gives the city walls a route to follow as well: alongside the fortifications’ length and architecture, there is a walking route with a specified direction. If you include this suggestion in your plans, you can treat it as a focus in its own right alongside the stories of the museums and mosques.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Fabrika Mh., Gözegöl, Altınkum, Adalar, Silvan, Yokuşlu Köyü, Ergani, Güllük.
To the overarching travel overview: Diyarbakir.
