Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens

Overview

A ring of black basalt nearly 6 kilometers (3.6 miles) long surrounds the old city of Diyarbakır, with 82 towers, four great gates and inscriptions from a dozen dynasties. Below the walls, terraced gardens run down to the Tigris, the river of ancient Mesopotamia. Together, the Diyarbakır Fortress and the Hevsel Gardens have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. Our Diyarbakır tour walks the walls and goes down to the gardens.

They run for about 5.8 km (3.6 miles), with towers, gates and inscriptions. Walk a stretch of the ramparts, look down over the green valley, then drive out to the ten-arched bridge on the Tigris.

Diyarbakır Fortress, Walls of Black Basalt

Today, the Diyarbakır Fortress encloses Sur, the historic district of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey. Torn between the two cities of the region? Read Diyarbakır or Mardin. It has two parts: the inner citadel in the northeast, the oldest part of the city, and the outer ring of city walls. Its main gates, for example, are the Dağ (Mountain) Gate, the Urfa Gate, the Mardin Gate and the Yeni (New) Gate.

On average, the walls are over 10 meters (33 feet) high and 3 to 5 meters (10–16 feet) thick. About 63 inscriptions from different periods survive on them, and 65 of the original 82 outer towers still stand.

History of the Diyarbakır Fortress

The Diyarbakır Fortress in Roman times

Originally, the city was Roman Amida. First, the Romans walled it in 297 AD, and in 349 Emperor Constantius II greatly expanded the walls. Justinian I strengthened them again in the 6th century.

Many dynasties, one wall

Later, after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, Abbasids, Marwanids, Seljuks and Artuqids all rebuilt and decorated the walls. From around 900, craftsmen began to carve animals into the stone beside Arabic inscriptions. The Artuqids rebuilt the citadel in 1206–1207 and, in 1208–1209, added the two most famous towers on the southern wall, Yedi Kardeş and Evli Beden. The Ottomans repaired the walls after taking the city in 1515, in a plainer style.

The Diyarbakır Fortress today

In 1930, two openings were cut to ease traffic. Otherwise, however, the ring is largely intact. After that, a major restoration ran from 2000 to 2007.

What to See at the Diyarbakır Fortress

Walls and towers of the Diyarbakır Fortress

The black basalt has also made the walls exceptionally durable. Next, look for the carved Artuqid towers of Yedi Kardeş, the “Seven Brothers”, and Evli Beden, covered with calligraphy and figures of animals and mythical creatures. Elsewhere, too, inscriptions in Arabic record each rebuilding.

The Hevsel Gardens

Between the walls and the Tigris lie the Hevsel Gardens. They cover some 700 hectares of fertile land on five terraces fed by springs. Aramean chronicles mention them as early as the 9th century BC. Later, in the 19th century, travelers praised their melons, grapes, apricots and famous watermelons, grown on islands in the river. The gardens have even been compared to the Garden of Eden.

The Dicle Bridge

About 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) south of the Mardin Gate, the Dicle Bridge crosses the Tigris on ten arches, so locals call it On Gözlü, “Ten Eyes”. Built of black stone in 1065 under the Marwanids, it is 178 meters (584 feet) long. Since 2009, a new bridge has carried the traffic, so you can walk across the old one.

Inside the Walls

Inside the walls, the old district of Sur still keeps its narrow lanes, mosques and churches. Outside, by contrast, the Hevsel Gardens are still farmed, with poplars and fruit trees between the vegetable plots, as they have been for centuries.

How to Visit Diyarbakır Fortress

Getting to Diyarbakır

• By air: Diyarbakır has an airport with domestic flights.
• By road: continue from Mardin, south of the city, or from Şanlıurfa and Balıklıgöl to the west.
• Combine it with the Malabadi Bridge to the east and the rest of Southeastern Anatolia.
• Toward Mardin: stop at Zerzevan Castle, a Roman garrison about 45 km (28 mi) along the highway.

Local tips for the Diyarbakır Fortress

• Walk the southern walls for views over the Hevsel Gardens and the Tigris.
• Visit the Dicle Bridge at sunset, when the black stone glows.