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Diyarbakır
Metropolitan municipality
Top left: Ali Pasha Mosque, Top right: Nebi Mosque, 2nd: Seyrangeha Park, 3rd left: Dört Ayaklı Minare Mosque, 3rd upper right: Deriyê Çiyê, 3rd lower right: On Gözlü Bridge (or Silvan Bridge), over Tigris River, Bottom left: Diyarbakır City Wall, Bottom right: Gazi Köşkü (Veterans Pavilion)
Diyarbakır Location of Diyarbakır within Turkey
Coordinates: 37°55′N 40°14′E / 37.91°N 40.24°E / 37.91; 40.24
Country	Turkey
Region	Southeastern Anatolia
Province	Diyarbakır
Government
• Mayor	Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu (State Appointed Mayor)
Elevation	675 m (2,215 ft)
Population
• Metropolitan municipality	930,266
• Metro	1,500,000
Ethnic groups
Time zone	UTC+3 (FET)
Postal code	21x xx
Area code	412
Licence plate	21
Website	www.diyarbakir-bld.gov.tr

Diyarbakır (Template:Lang-ku, Template:Lang-ar, Template:Lang-arm, Template:Lang-syr) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey and the official capital of the Diyarbakır Province. It is considered by Kurdish nationalists as the unofficial capital of "Turkish Kurdistan". Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province. It is the third-largest city in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, after Şanlıurfa and Gaziantep.

It has been a focal point of the conflict between the Turkish state and various Kurdish insurgent groups.

Names and etymology

The name Diyarbakır (Template:Lang-ar, Diyaru Bakr, which means the Land of Bakir; Template:Lang-hy, Tigranakert; Template:Lang-grc, Amida; Template:Lang-ota, Diyâr-ı Bekr; Template:Lang-syr) is inscribed as Amed on the sheath of a sword from the Assyrian period, and the same name was used in other contemporary Syriac and Arabic works. The Romans and Byzantines called the city Amida. Another medieval use of the term as Amit is found in Empire of Trebizond official documents in 1358. Among the Artukid and Akkoyunlu it was known as "Black Amid" (Kara Amid) for the dark color of its walls, while in the Zafername, or eulogies in praise of military victories, it is called "Black Fortress" (Kara Kale). In the Book of Dede Korkut and some other Turkish works it appears as Kara Hamid.

Following the Arab conquests in the seventh century, the Arab Bakr tribe settled in this region, which became known as the Diyar Bakr ("landholdings of the Bakr tribe", in Template:Lang-ar, Diyar Bakr). In 1937, Atatürk visited Diyarbakir and, after expressing uncertainty on the exact etymology of the city, ordered that it be renamed "Diyarbakır", which means "land of copper" in Turkish after the abundant resources of copper around the city.

History

The earliest reference to the city comes from Assyrian records which identify it as being the capital of the Aramean kingdom of Bit-Zamani (c. 1300 BC). In the ninth century BC, the city joined a rebellion against the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. The city was later reduced to being a province of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

From 189 BCE to 387 CE, the region to the east and south of present Diyarbakır came under the rule of Greater Armenia and was part of Korchayk province (ashkhar).

Later, the Romans colonized the city and named it Amida, after the earlier name Amid. During the Roman rule, the first city walls were constructed in 297. Later, the greater walls were built as per the command of the Roman emperor Constantius II. The Romans were succeeded by the Muslim Arabs. It was the leader of the Arab Bekr tribe, Bekr Bin Vail, who named the city Diyar Bakr, meaning "the country of Bakr", i.e. Arabs.

After a few centuries, Diyarbakır came under the Ottoman Empire and earned the status of the capital of a large province. The city became the base of army troops who guarded the region against Persian invasion. Diyarbakır faced turbulence in the 20th century, particularly with the onset of World War I. The majority of the city's Assyrian and Armenian population were massacred and deported during the Assyrian Genocide & Armenian Genocide in 1915. In 1925, armed Kurdish groups rose in the Sheikh Said rebellion against the newly established secular government of the Republic of Turkey with the aim to revive the Islamic caliphate and sultanate, but were defeated by Turkish forces.

Antiquity

The area around Diyarbakır has been inhabited by humans from the stone age with tools from that period having been discovered in the nearby Hilar cave complex. The pre-pottery neolithic B settlement of Çayönü dates to over 10,000 years ago and its excavated remains are on display at the Diyarbakır Museum. Another important site is Girikihaciyan Tumulus in Eğil.

The first major civilization to establish themselves in the region of what is now Diyarbakır were the Hurrian kingdom of the Mitanni. The city was first mentioned by Assyrian texts as the capital of a Semitic kingdom. It was then ruled by a succession of nearly every polity that controlled Upper Mesopotamia, including the Arameans, Assyrians, Urartu, Armenians, Achaemenid Persians, Medes, Seleucids, and Parthians. The Roman Republic gained control of the city in 66 BC, by which stage it was named "Amida". In 359, Shapur II of Persia captured Amida after a siege of 73 days which is vividly described by the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus.

Ecclesiastical history

Syriac Christianity took hold in the region between the 1st and 4th centuries AD, particularly amongst the Assyrians of the city. The earliest documented bishop of Amida was Simeon of the Assyrian Church of the East, who took part in the First Council of Nicaea in 325, on behalf of the Assyrians. Maras was at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. In the next century, Saint Acacius of Amida (who died in 425, and is included in the Roman Martyrology) was noted for having sold the church's gold and silver vessels to ransom and assist Persian prisoners of war.

Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II (408–450) divided the Roman province of Mesopotamia into two, and made Amida the capital of Mesopotamia Prima, and thereby also the metropolitan see for all the province's bishoprics. A 6th-century Notitia Episcopatuum indicates as suffragans of Amida the sees of Martyropolis, Ingila, Belabitene, Arsamosata, Sophene, Kitharis, Cefa, and Zeugma. The Annuario Pontificio adds Bethzabda and Dadima.

The names of several of the successors of Acacius are known, but their orthodoxy is unclear. The last whose orthodoxy is certain is Cyriacus, a participant in the Second Council of Constantinople (553). Many bishops of the Byzantine Empire fled in the face of the Persian invasion of the early 7th century, with a resultant spread of the Jacobite Church, Michael the Syrian gives a list of Jacobite bishops of Amida down to the 13th century.

At some stage, Amida became a see of the Armenian Christians. The bishops who held the see in 1650 and 1681 were in communion with the Holy See, and in 1727 Peter Derboghossian sent his profession of faith to Rome. He was succeeded by two more Catholic Armenians, Eugenius and Ioannes of Smyrna, the latter of whom died in Constantinople in 1785. After a long vacancy, three more bishops followed. The diocese had some 5,000 Armenian Catholics in 1903, but it lost most of its population in the Armenian Genocide. The last diocesan bishop of the see, Andreas Elias Celebian, was killed with some 600 of his faithful in the summer of 1915.

An eparchy for the local members of the Syriac Catholic Church was established in 1862. Ignatius Philip I Arkus, who was its first bishop, was elected patriarch in 1866, he kept the governance of the see of Amida, which he exercised through a patriarchal vicar. The eparchy was united to that of Mardin in 1888. Persecution in Turkey during the First World War brought an end to the existence of both these Syrian residential sees.

However, in 1966 a Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy with jurisdiction over all Chaldean Catholic Turks was revived in Diyarbakır, with the city being as episcopal see and location of the diocesan main Cathedral.

As of 2015, there are two Chaldean Churches, and three Armenian churches in at least periodic operation. Three other churches are in ruins, all Armenian: one outside Sur district, one in it, and one in the citadel that is now part of a museum complex.

Titular sees

No longer a residential bishopric until 1966 (Chaldean rite), Amida is today listed by the Catholic Church as a multiple titular see, separately for the Latin Roman Rite and two Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris.

Latin titular see

Amida of the Romans was suppressed in 1970, having had many archiepiscopal incumbents with a singular episcopal exception :

• Domingo Valentín Guerra Arteaga y Leiva (19 December 1725 – 8 March 1728)
• Francisco Casto Royo (15 December 1783 – September 1803)
• Gaétan Giunta (6 October 1829 – unknown date)
• Titular Bishop Augustus van Heule, Jesuits (S.J.) (9 September 1864 – 9 June 1865)
• Colin Francis McKinnon (30 August 1877 – 26 September 1879)
• Francis Xavier Norbert Blanchet (26 January 1881 – 18 June 1883)
• Beniamino Cavicchioni (21 March 1884 – 11 January 1894) (later Cardinal)
• Francesco Sogaro, Comboni Missionaies (F.S.C.I.) (18 August 1894 – 6 February 1912)
• James Duhig (27 February 1912 – 13 January 1917)
• John Baptist Pitaval (29 July 1918 – 23 May 1928)
• Carlo Chiarlo (12 October 1928 – 15 December 1958) (later Cardinal)
• Gastone Mojaisky-Perrelli (8 August 1959 – 10 May 1963)
• Robert Picard de la Vacquerie (23 May 1963 – 17 March 1969)
• Joseph Cheikho (7 March 1970 – 22 August 1970)

Armenian Catholic titular see

The diocese of Amida, in 1650, was suppressed in 1972 and immediately nominally restored as Armenian Catholic (Armenian Rite and language) titular bishopric of the lowest (episcopal) rank, Amida of the Armenians.

So far, it has had the following incumbents, of the fitting episcopal rank with an archiepiscopal exception:

• Grégoire Ghabroyan, Patriarchal Clergy Institute of Bzommar (I.C.P.B.) (3 January 1977 – 30 June 1986) as Vicar Apostolic of France of the Armenians (3 January 1977 – 30 June 1986); later Eparch (Bishop) of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris of the Armenians (France) (30 June 1986 – 2 February 2013) and Apostolic Visitor in Western Europe of the Armenians (30 June 1986 – 8 June 2013), then Patriarchal Administrator of Cilicia of the Armenians (in Beirut, Lebanon) (25 June 2015 – 25 July 2015), finally Patriarch of Cilicia as Grégoire Pierre XX Ghabroyan (24 July 2015 – present) and President of Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church (25 July 2015 – present)
• Titular Archbishop Lévon Boghos Zékiyan (21 May 2014 – 21 March 2015), as Apostolic Administrator sede plena of Istanbul of the Armenians (Turkey) (21 May 2014 – 21 March 2015), later succeeded as Archeparch (Archbishop) of Istanbul of the Armenians (21 March 2015.03.21 – present) and President of Episcopal Conference of Turkey (April 2015 – present)
• Kévork Assadourian (5 September 2015 – present), Auxiliary Bishop of Beirut of the Armenians; no previous prelature

Syriac Catholic titular see

Established in 1963 as Titular archbishopric of the highest (Metropolitan) rank, Amida of the Syriacs.

It has been vacant for decades, having had the following incumbent of Metropolitan rank;

• Titular Archbishop Flavien Zacharie Melki (6 July 1963 – 30 November 1989), as Patriarchal Vicar of Lebanon of the Syriacs (6 July 1963 – death 1983)

Middle Ages

In 639, the city was captured by the Muslim conquests, and introduced the religion of Islam. The city passed under Umayyad and then Abbasid control, but with the progressive fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate from the late 9th century, it periodically came under the rule of autonomous dynasties. Isa ibn al-Shaykh al-Shaybani and his descendants ruled the city and the wider Diyar Bakr from 871 until 899, when Caliph al-Mu'tadid restored Abbasid control, but the area soon passed to another local dynasty, the Hamdanids. The latter were displaced by the Buyids in 978, who were in turn followed by the Marwanids a few years later. The Marwanids ruled until after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, when the city came under the rule of the Mardin branch of the Oghuz Turks and then the Anatolian beylik of the Artuqids. The whole area was then disputed between the Ilkhanate and Ayyubid dynasties for a century, after which it was taken over by the competing Turkic federations of the Kara Koyunlu (the Black Sheep) first and then the Aq Qoyunlu until the rise of the Persian Safavids, who naturally took over the city and the wider region.

Safavids and Ottomans

During Ottoman rule, the government began to assert its authority in the region in the early 19th century. Concerned with independent-mindedness of Kurdish principalities, Ottomans sought to curb their influence and bring them under the control of the central government in Constantinople. However, removal from power of these hereditary principalities led to more instability in the region from the 1840s onwards. In their place, sufi sheiks and religious orders rose to prominence and spread their influence throughout the region. One of the prominent Sufi leaders was Shaikh Ubaidalla Nahri, who began a revolt in the region between Lakes Van and Urmia. The area under his control covered both Ottoman and Qajar territories. Shaikh Ubaidalla is regarded as one of the earliest leaders who pursued modern nationalist ideas among Kurds. In a letter to a British Vice-Consul, he declared: the Kurdish nation is a people apart... we want our affairs to be in our hands'.' The breakup of the Ottoman Empire after its defeat in the First World War led to its dismemberment and establishment of the present-day political boundaries, dividing the Kurdish-inhabited regions between several newly created states. The establishment and enforcement of the new borders had profound effects for the Kurds, who had to abandon their traditional nomadism for village life and settled farming.

Between the early 16th century and mid-to late 17th century the city and the much wider Eastern Anatolia region (comprising Eastern Anatolia and Southeastern Anatolia) was being heavily competed between the rivalling Safavids and the Ottoman Turks, being passed on numerous times between the two archrivals. When it was firstly conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century by the campaigns of Bıyıklı Mehmet Paşa under the rule of Sultan Selim I following the Battle of Chaldiran, they established an eyelet with its centre in Diyarbakır. The Ottoman eyelet of Diyarbakır corresponded to Turkey's southeastern provinces today, a rectangular area between the Lake Urmia to Palu and from the southern shores of Lake Van to Cizre and the beginnings of the Syrian desert, although its borders saw some changes over time. The city was an important military base for controlling this region and at the same time a thriving city noted for its craftsmen, producing glass and metalwork. For example, the doors of Mevlana's tomb in Konya were made in Diyarbakır, as were the gold and silver decorated doors of the tomb of Imam-i Azam Ebu Hanife in Baghdad. Ottoman rule was confirmed by the Peace of Amasya of 1555 which followed after the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555). However, a recapture of the city followed by Safavid Persia, ruled by shah Abbas I, during the Ottoman-Safavid War (1603–1618). Diyarbakır was retaken by the Safavids once again in 1623-1624, during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–1639).

In 1895 an estimated 25,000 Armenians and Assyrians were massacred in Diyarbakır vilayet, including the city. At the turn of the 19th century, the Christian population of the city was mainly made up of Armenians and Syriac Orthodox Christians. The city was also a site of ethnic cleansing of Armenians and Assyrians in 1915; nearly 150,000 were deported from the city.

Republic of Turkey

In the reorganization of the provinces, Diyarbakır was made administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province. In 1993 Diyarbakir was established as a Metropolitan Municipality. Its districts are Baĝlar, Bismil, Ergani, Hazro, Kayapinar, Çermik, Çinar, Eĝil, Dicle, Kulp, Kocaköy, Lice, Silvan, Sur, Yenişehir and Hani.

During the 1980s and 1990s, at the peak of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) insurgency, the population of the city grew dramatically as villagers from remote areas where fighting was serious left or were forced to leave for the relative security of the city. After the cessation of hostilities between the PKK and the Turkish army, a large degree of normality returned to the city, with the Turkish government declaring an end to the 15-year period of emergency rule on 30 November 2002. Diyarbakır grew from a population of 30,000 in the 1930s to 65,000 by 1956, to 140,000 by 1970, to 400,000 by 1990, and eventually swelled to about 1.5 million by 1997.

The 41-year-old American-Turkish Pirinçlik Air Force Base near Diyarbakır, known as NATO's frontier post for monitoring the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, closed on 30 September 1997. This closure was the result of the general drawdown of US bases in Europe and the improvement in space surveillance technology. The base housed sensitive electronic intelligence-gathering systems that monitored the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Russia.

According to a November 2006 survey by the Sur Municipality, 72% of the inhabitants of the municipality use Kurdish most often in their daily speech, followed by Turkish, with small minorities of Assyrians, Armenians and Yezidis still resident. After World War II, as the Kurdish population moved to urban centres, Diyarbakir gradually became predominantly Kurdish.

Diyarbakır has been the victim of terror attacks in recent years. In 2008, a car bomb exploded in the city, killing five people, a blast for which nobody claimed responsibility. In 2015, a political rally of the People's Democratic Party was targeted, killing three people and injuring over 100. And in 2016, two separate attacks in February and March, each killing six people. In November 2016 ISIL perpetrated an attack that killed 9 people and wounded more than 100.

Between 8 November 2015 and 15 May 2016 large parts of Sur were destroyed in fighting between the Turkish military and the PKK.

A 2018 report by Arkeologlar Derneği İstanbul found that, since 2015, 72% of the city's historic Sur district had been destroyed through demolition and redevelopment, and that laws designed to protect historic monuments had been ignored. They found that the city's "urban regeneration" policy was one of demolition and redevelopment rather than one of repairing cultural assets damaged during the recent civil conflict, and because of that many registered historic buildings had been completely destroyed. The extent of the loss of non-registered historic structures is unknown because any historic building fragments revealed during the demolition of modern structures were also demolished.

Sports

The most notable football clubs of the city are Diyarbakırspor (established 1968) and Amed SK (established 1990).

The women's football team Amed SFK were promoted at the end of the 2016–17 Turkish Women's Second Football League season to the Women's First League.

Politics

In the 2014 local elections, Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) were elected co-mayors of Diyarbakır. However, on 25 October 2016, both were detained by Turkish authorities "on thinly supported charges of being a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)". The Turkish government ordered a general internet blackout after the arrest. Nevertheless, on 26 October, several thousand demonstrators at Diyarbakir city hall demanded the mayors’ release. Some days later, the Turkish government appointed an unelected state trustee as the mayor. In November, public prosecutors demanded a 230-year prison sentence for Kışanak.

In January 2017, the Turkish government appointed unelected state trustee ordered the removal of the Assyrian sculpture of a mythological winged bull from the townhall, which had been erected by the BDP mayors to commemorate the Assyrian history of the town and its still resident Assyrian minority.

In the Municipal election 2019 Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı was elected mayor of Diyarbakir In August 2019 he was dismissed accused of supporting terrorism.

Economy

Historically, Diyarbakır produced wheat and sesame. They would preserve the wheat in warehouses, with coverings of straw and twigs from licorice trees. This system would allow the wheat to be preserved for up to ten years. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Diyarbakır exported raisins, almonds, and apricots to Europe. Angora goats were raised, and wool and mohair was exported from Diyarbakır. Merchants would also come from Egypt, Istanbul, and Syria, to purchase goats and sheep. Honey was also produced, but not so much exported, but used by locals. Sericulture was observed in the area, too.

Prior to World War I, Diyarbakır had an active copper industry, with six mines. Three were active, with two being owned by locals and the third being owned by the Turkish government. Tenorite was the primary type of copper mined. It was mined by hand by Kurds. A large portion of the ore was exported to England. The region also produced iron, gypsum, coal, chalk, lime, jet, and quartz, but primarily for local use.

Demographics

Demographic history

At the turn of the 19th century, the Christian population of the city was mainly made up of Armenians and Assyrians. The Assyrian presence dates to antiquity, while Armenians had inhabited the town since the 8th century. There was also a small Jewish community in the city.

Present day

The city is about 76% Kurdish speaking

There are also several Alevi Turkmen villages around Diyarbakır old city, however there are no specific official data about the population numbers.

Culture

Some jewelry making and other craftwork continues today although the fame of the Diyarbakır's craftsmen has long passed. Folk dancing to the drum and zurna (pipe) are a part of weddings and celebrations in the area.

Cuisine

Diyarbakır is known for rich dishes of lamb which use spices such as black pepper, sumac and coriander; rice, bulgur and butter. The most famous specialty dish from Diyarbakır is Meftune which is made up of lamb meat and vegetable laced with garlic and sumac. Another known dish is Kaburga Dolması which is a baked lamb's ribs stuffed with rice, almonds and many spices. Diyarbakır is also known for its watermelons; one of the events in the city is the annually held Watermelon Festival.

Main sights

The core of Diyarbakır is surrounded by an almost intact, dramatic set of high walls of black basalt forming a 5.5 km (3.4 mi) circle around the old city. There are four gates into the old city and 82 watch-towers on the walls, which were built in antiquity, restored and extended by the Roman emperor Constantius II in 349. The area inside the walls is known as the Sur district; before its recent demolition and redevelopment this district had 599 registered historical buildings.

Medieval mosques and medreses

• Great Mosque of Diyarbakır built by the Seljuk Turkish Sultan Malik Shah in the 11th century. The mosque, one of the oldest in Turkey, is constructed in alternating bands of black basalt and white limestone (The same patterning is used in the 16th century Deliler Han Madrassah, which is now a hotel). The adjoining Mesudiye Medresesi/Medreseya Mesûdiyeyê was built at the same time, as was another prayer-school in the city, Zinciriye Medresesi/Medreseya Zincîriyeyê.
• Behram Pasha Mosque (Beharampaşa Camii/Mizgefta Behram Paşa) – an Ottoman mosque built in 1572 by the governor of Diyarbakır, Behram Pasha, noted for the well-constructed arches at the entrance.
• Sheikh Matar Mosque with Dört Ayaklı Minare/Mizgefta Çarling (the Four-legged Minaret) – built by Kasim Khan of the Aq Qoyunlu.
• Fatihpaşa Camii/Mizgefta Fetih Paşa – built in 1520 by Diyarbakır's first Ottoman governor, Bıyıklı Mehmet Paşa ("the moustachioed Mehmet pasha"). The city's earliest Ottoman building, it is decorated with fine tilework.
• Hazreti Süleyman Mosque/Mizgefta Hezretî Silêman (1155–1169) Süleyman son of Halid Bin Velid, who died capturing the city from the Arabs, is buried here along with his companions.
• Hüsrevpaşa Camii/Mizgefta Husrev Paşa – the mosque of the second Ottoman governor, 1512–1528. Originally the building was intended to be a school (medrese)
• İskender Paşa Camii/Mizgefta Îskender Paşa – a mosque of an Ottoman governor, an attractive building in black and white stone, built in 1551.
• Melek Ahmet Camii/Melek Ahmed Paşa a 16th-century mosque noted for its tiled prayer-niche and for the double stairway up the minaret.
• Nebii Camii/Mizgefta Pêxember – an Aq Qoyunlu mosque, a single-domed stone construction from the 16th century. Nebi Camii means "the mosque of the prophet" and is so-named because of the number of inscriptions in honour of the prophet on its minaret.
• Safa Camii/Mizgefta Palo – built in the middle of the 15th century under Uzun Hasan, ruler of the Aq Qoyunlu (White Sheep Turkomans) tribe and restored in Ottoman time in 1532.

• Diyarbakır Fatih Paşa Camii Front
• Diyarbakır Fatih Paşa Camii Grave to the side
• Diyarbakır Fatih Paşa Camii Interior
• Diyarbakır Fatih Paşa Camii Door of the minber
• Diyarbakir Hüsrev Paşa Mosque Minaret
• Diyarbakir Hüsrev Paşa Mosque Courtyard
• Diyarbakir Hüsrev Paşa Mosque Interior
• Diyarbakir Hüsrev Paşa Mosque Soup kitchen
• Diyarbakır Hazreti Süleyman Mosque Courtyard
• Diyarbakır Hazreti Süleyman Mosque Interior
• Diyarbakır Hazreti Süleyman Mosque Graves
• Diyarbakır Iskender Paşa Mosque Front
• Diyarbakır Iskender Paşa Mosque Interior
• Diyarbakır Iskender Paşa Mosquen Top mihrab
• Diyarbakır Melik Ahmet Paşa Mosque from courtyard
• Diyarbakır Melik Ahmet Paşa Mosque Minaret base
• Diyarbakır Melik Ahmet Paşa Mosque Minaret base
• Diyarbakır Melik Ahmet Paşa Mosque Interior
• Diyarbakır Melik Ahmet Paşa Mosque Mihrab
• Diyarbakır Nebi Mosque Front and minaret
• Diyarbakır Nebi Mosque Tiles
• Diyarbakır Nebi Mosque Open-air grave
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Front
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Minaret
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Interior
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Domes
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Minber
• Diyarbakır Safa Camii Top of minber entrance

Churches

• St. Giragos Armenian Church – first built in 1519, the current structure is from 1883, and was recently restored after a long period of disuse.
• The Syriac Orthodox Church of Our Lady (Template:Lang-syr `Idto d-Yoldat Aloho, Template:Lang-tr), was first constructed as a pagan temple in the 1st century BCE. The current construction dates back to the 3rd century, has been restored many times, and is still in use as a place of worship today.
• Mar Petyun (St. Anthony) Chaldean Catholic Church, built in 1681.
• Surp Sarkis Chaldean Church
• There are a few other churches in the city

• Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Front
• Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Courtyard Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Courtyard
• Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Interior
• Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Decorative piece
• Diyarbakır Evangelical Church Altar
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church Courtyard
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church Bell tower
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church Interior
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church Interior
• Diyarbakır Mar Petyun Chaldean Church Altar
• Diyarbakır Virgin Mary Church Exterior
• Diyarbakır Virgin Mary Church Entrance from courtyard
• Diyarbakır Virgin Mary Church Altar
• Diyarbakır Virgin Mary Church Altar area

Museums

• The Archaeological Museum contains artifacts from the neolithic period, through the Early Bronze Age, Assyrian, Urartu, Roman, Byzantine, Artuqids, Seljuk Turk, Aq Qoyunlu, and Ottoman Empire periods.
• Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı Museum – the home of the late poet and a classic example of a traditional Diyarbakır home.
• The birthplace of poet Ziya Gökalp – preserved as a museum to his life and works.
• Ahmet Arif Literature Museum Library.

Other historical buildings

• The Dicle Bridge, an 11th-century bridge with ten arches
• The Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape were elected an UNESCO World Heritage in 2015 and are popular tourist attractions.

Climate

Diyarbakır has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). Summer are very hot and very dry, due to its location on the Mesopotamian plain which is subject to hot winds from the deserts of Syria and Iraq to the south. The highest recorded temperature was 46.2 °C (112.64 °F) on 21 July 1937. Winters are cold and wet and with frosty nights. Snowfall is quite common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two. The lowest recorded temperature was −24.2 °C (−10.12 °F) on 11 January 1933.

Notable people born in the city

• Aëtius of Amida, (5th century to mid-6th century) a Greek physician and medical writer native to Diyarbakır
• Abdülkadir Aksu, former interior minister
• Ahmed Arif, poet
• Pınar Ayhan, singer, Turkish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000
• Aziz Yıldırım, President of Fenerbahçe S.K. sports club
• Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, poet
• Cihan Haspolatlı, footballer for Galatasaray S.K.
• Gazi Yaşargil, medical scientist and neurosurgeon
• Hesenê Metê, writer
• Hovsep Pushman, Armenian-American painter
• Hikmet Çetin, former foreign minister and former NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan
• Leyla Zana, politician
• Yekta Uzunoglu, writer,physician,human rights fighter, translator and entrepreneur.
• Lokman Polat, writer
• Agop Handanyan, physician and writer
• Mehmed Emin Bozarslan, writer
• Mehmet Polat, actor
• Kevork Malikyan, actor
• Naum Faiq, Assyrian writer and founding father of modern Assyrian nationalism
• Osman Baydemir: politician
• Rupen Zartarian, Armenian writer
• Rojen Barnas, writer
• Songül Öden, actress
• Süleyman Nazif, poet
• Ziya Gökalp, sociologist and writer (the Ziyagökalp neighborhood of the city is named after him, as well as many streets and schools)
• Mıgırdiç Margosyan, writer
• Coşkun Sabah, musician
• Sayf al-Din al-Amidi, Islamic theologian and legal scholar of the Shafi'i school
• Zabelle C. Boyajian, Armenian painter and writer

See also

• Amid (Chaldean Diocese)
• Assyrian homeland
• Bakran tribe
• Dicle University
• Diyarbakırspor
• Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyespor
• Category:Ancient Assyrian cities

References

1. ^ "https://thekurdishproject.org/kurdistan-map/turkish-kurdistan/diyarbakir/". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
2. Avcýkýran, Dr. Adem (ed.). "Kürtçe Anamnez, Anamneza bi Kurmancî" (PDF). Tirsik. p. 55. Retrieved 17 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
3. ^ Gunter, Michael M. (2010). Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Scarecrow Press. p. 86.
4. King, Diane E. (2013). Kurdistan on the Global Stage: Kinship, Land, and Community in Iraq. Rutgers University Press. p. 233. Diyarbakir's Kurdish name is "Amed."
5. Akyol, Mustafa (2007). "Pro-Kurdish DTP sweeps Diyarbakir". Hürriyet. Amed is the ancient name given to Diyarbakır in the Kurdish language.
6. Joseph R. Rudolph Jr. (7 December 2015). Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts, 2nd Edition [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 484. ISBN 978-1-61069-553-4. As some have noted, Turkey's road to the EU lies through Diyarbakir, the unofficial capital of Turkish Kurdistan.
7. Wendelmoet Hamelink (6 April 2016). The Sung Home. Narrative, Morality, and the Kurdish Nation. BRILL. p. 307. ISBN 978-90-04-31482-5. This is also related to the unique position of Diyarbakır as the unofficial capital city of Turkish Kurdistan, as such ...
8. William Ayers; Therese M. Quinn; David Stovall (2 June 2009). Handbook of Social Justice in Education. Routledge. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-135-59614-9. The unofficial capital of North Kurdistan (Turkish Kurdistan) is Diyarbakir in Turkish, but Amed in Kurdish.
9. Elise Massicard; Nicole Watts (12 December 2012). Negotiating Political Power in Turkey: Breaking up the Party. Routledge. p. 99. ISBN 978-1-135-13687-1. This chapter explores these questions through an analysis of pro-Kurdish parties1 and their social footing in the city of Diyarbakır, one of the largest cities in Turkey.
10. Jeri Laber; Lois Whitman (1 January 1988). Destroying Ethnic Identity: The Kurds of Turkey. Human Rights Watch. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-938579-41-0. It began in Diyarbakir, the unofficial capital of Turkish Kurdistan,
11. Western Armenian pronunciation: Dikranagerd; Hovannisian, Richard G. (2006). Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 9781568591537. The city that later generations of Armenians would call Dikranagerd was actually ancient Amid or Amida (now Diyarbekir or Diyarbakır), a great walled city with seventy-two towers...
12. ^ Diyarbakır Archived 23 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Turkish Airlines. Retrieved on 2012-05-13.
13. Zehiroglu, Ahmet M. ; "Trabzon Imparatorlugu" 2016 (ISBN 978-605-4567-52-2) ; p.223
14. Abdul- Rahman Mizouri Taj Al- Arifeen: Udday bin Musafir Al- Kurdy Al- Hakary Is not an Umayyad. Part Two. College of Arts/ Dohuk University (2001)
15. Verity Campbell (1 April 2007). Turkey. Lonely Planet. pp. 621–. ISBN 978-1-74104-556-7. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
16. See Üngör, Uğur (2011), The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913–1950. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 244. ISBN 0-19-960360-X.
17. Charles Gates, , 2011, p.19
18. Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, 1999 p. 137
19. Theodor Mommsen History of Rome, The Establishment of the Military Monarchy. Italian.classic-literature.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-05-13.
20. The Eye of Command, Kimberly Kagan, p. 23
21. Martyrologium Romanum (Vatican Press 2001 ISBN 978-88-209-7210-3), under 9 April
22. Edwards, Robert W., "Diyarbakır" (2016). The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology, ed., Paul Corby Finney. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8028-9016-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
23. Echos d'Orient X, 1907, pp. 96 and 145.
24. Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 989–996
25. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/04/turkey-pkk-clashes-armenian-church-collateral-damage.html Archived 14 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Why the Turkish government seized this Armenian church
26. Yeginsu, Ceylan (23 April 2016). "Turkey's Seizure of Churches and Land Alarms Armenians" – via NYTimes.com.
27. Annuaire Pontifical Catholique, 1903, p. 173.
28. ^ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 456
29. ^ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Complementi, Leipzig 1931, p. 93
30. F. Tournebize, v. Amid ou Amida, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 1246–1247
31. Hovhannes J. Tcholakian, L'église arménienne catholique en Turquie, 1998
32. S. Vailhé, Antioche. Patriarcat syrien-catholique, in Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, Vol. I, Paris 1903, coll. 1433
33. O. Werner, Orbis terrarum catholicus, Freiburg 1890, p. 164
34. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 831
35. Faroqhi 2009, p. 91.
36. Gunter, Michael. The Kurdish Predicament in Iraq: A Political Analysis. p. 8.
37. ^ Joost Jongerden; Jelle Verheij (2012). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915. BRILL. p. 20. ISBN 90-04-22518-8.
38. Dumper, Michael. Cities of The Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. p. 130.
39. "504 Sayılı Kanun Hükmünde Kararname | Kanunlar". web.archive.org. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
40. "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart 2019 Yerel Seçimleri". sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
41. McDowall, David (2004). 3E (ed.). A Modern History of the Kurds. IB Tauris. p. 403. ISBN 978-1-85043-416-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)
42. Kirişci, Kemal (June 1998). "Turkey". In Janie Hampton (ed.). Internally Displaced People: A Global Survey. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd. pp. 198, 199.
43. "Diyarbakir - Pirinclik". globalsecurity.org.
44. "Belediye Diyarbakırlıyı tanıdı: Kürtçe konuşuyor". Radikal (in Turkish). Dogan News Agency. 24 November 2006. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
45. Metin Heper; Sabri Sayari (7 May 2013). The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey. Routledge. p. 247. ISBN 978-1-136-30964-9. It was thus only in recent times that Diyarbakır, the unofficial capital of Turkey's Kurdish area, became a predominantly Kurdish town.
46. "Death toll in HDP Diyarbakır rally rises to three - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
47. "ISIL claims Diyarbakir bombing days after 'al-Baghdadi urged attacks on Turkey'". euronews. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
48. Turkije, Lucas Waagmeestercorrespondent in. "Vernietiging Turkse steden veel groter dan gedacht". nos.nl. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
49. ^ Diyarbakir Ziyareti: Çatişma, Yikim ve Yeniden İnşa
50. "Turkish court acquits German footballer Naki in Kurdish case". BBC. 8 November 2016.
51. "are-your-ancesters-from-dikrranagerr". westarmgen. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
52. ^ "Fury erupts after mayors detained in Turkey's Kurdish southeast". Al-Monitor. 26 October 2016.
53. "Slowdown in access to social media in Turkey a 'security measure,' says PM". Hurriyet Daily News. 4 November 2016.
54. "Turkey appoints trustee as Diyarbakir mayor after arrests". France24. 1 November 2016. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016.
55. "Prosecutors demand 230 years prison sentences for ousted Diyarbakır Co-Mayor Kışanak". Hurriyet Daily News. 29 November 2016.
56. "Turkey: the AKP launches a campaign against the Assyrian Christians". Voltairenet. 17 January 2017.
57. "Turkey remove Assyrian sculpture from front of local city hall". Almasdar News. 17 January 2017.
58. "Diyarbakır Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart Diyarbakır Yerel Seçim Sonuçları". secim.haberler.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 20 May 2019.
59. "Three pro-Kurdish mayors replaced in southeastern Turkey". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
60. ^ Prothero, W.G. (1920). Armenia and Kurdistan. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 60.
61. ^ Prothero, W.G. (1920). Armenia and Kurdistan. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 62.
62. Prothero, W.G. (1920). Armenia and Kurdistan. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 63.
63. Prothero, W.G. (1920). Armenia and Kurdistan. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 64.
64. Prothero, W.G. (1920). Armenia and Kurdistan. London: H.M. Stationery Office. p. 70.
65. Goodspeed, George (1902). A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians, Volume 6.
66. ^ Konu: Diyarbakır Tarihi ve Demografik Yapısı
67. "Diyarbakir". The Kurdish Project.
68. Diyarbakır Alevi-Türkmen köyleri
69. "Selim Amca'nın Sofra Salonu". Lonely Planet. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
70. "Diyarbakır Culture and Watermelon Festival". arastirma.tarimorman.gov.tr. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
71. Tile Revetments from the 15th Century in Eastern Anatolia : A Problem of Attribution, Khalida Mahi , 2011,
72. ^ "Diyarbakir - Other monuments". romeartlover.tripod.com.
73. "Churches of Diyarbakir also expropriated". Agos. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
74. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
75. Historical Weather for Diyarbakir, Turkey – Travel, Vacation, Forecast and Reference Information. Weatherbase. Retrieved on 2012-05-13.
76. Plant, Ian Michael (2004). Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome: An Anthology. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780806136219. Aetius: A Greek from Amida (in Mesopotamia), who wrote on philosophy in the mid- sixth century AD in Alexandria.
77. Meade, Richard Hardaway (1968). An introduction to the history of general surgery. Saunders. p. 108. OCLC 438114. Aetius of Amida, who lived in the sixth century A.D. and was the first Greek physician who was a Christian, had a chapter on aneurysms in his book on surgery.
78. "home". Yekta Uzunoglu. Retrieved 10 August 2018.

Sources

• Faroqhi, Suraiya (2009). Frisch, Shelley (ed.). The Ottoman Empire: A Short History. Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 978-1558764491. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Template:Tr icon Governorship of Diyarbakır
• Template:Tr icon Diyarbakırspor funs, news, informarmation
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• Diyarbakır Weather Forecast Information
• Over 1000 well-organized pictures of major sights

37°55′N 40°14′E / 37.91°N 40.24°E / 37.91; 40.24

v t e Diyarbakır in Diyarbakır Province of Turkey
Districts	Bağlar Bismil Çermik Çınar Çüngüş Dicle Eğil Ergani Hani Hazro Kayapınar Kocaköy Kulp Lice Silvan Sur Yenişehir
List of provinces by region Istanbul Istanbul West Marmara Balıkesir Çanakkale Edirne Kırklareli Tekirdağ Aegean Afyonkarahisar Aydın Denizli İzmir Kütahya Manisa Muğla Uşak East Marmara Bilecik Bolu Bursa Düzce Eskişehir Kocaeli Sakarya Yalova West Anatolia Ankara Karaman Konya Mediterranean Adana Antalya Burdur Hatay Isparta Kahramanmaraş Mersin Osmaniye Central Anatolia Aksaray Kayseri Kırıkkale Kırşehir Nevşehir Niğde Sivas Yozgat West Black Sea Amasya Bartın Çankırı Çorum Karabük Kastamonu Samsun Sinop Tokat Zonguldak East Black Sea Artvin Giresun Gümüşhane Ordu Rize Trabzon Northeast Anatolia Ağrı Ardahan Bayburt Erzincan Erzurum Iğdır Kars Central East Anatolia Bingöl Bitlis Elazığ Hakkâri Malatya Muş Tunceli Van Southeast Anatolia Adıyaman Batman Diyarbakır Gaziantep Kilis Mardin Siirt Şanlıurfa Şırnak
Metropolitan municipalities are bolded.

v t e The Tigris
Countries	Turkey (523 km) Syria (40 km) Iraq (1,377 km)
Cities	Diyarbakır Bismil Hasankeyf Cizre Mosul Tikrit Samarra Kadhimiya Baghdad Amarah Al-Kūt Kemune
Tributaries	Ambar Kuru Pamuk Hazro Batman Garzan Göksu Savur Botan Little Khabur Great Zab Little Zab 'Adhaim Diyala
Dams	Dicle Ilısu Cizre Mosul Badush Samarra Kut

v t e Largest cities or towns in Turkey TÜİK's address-based calculation from 31 December 2023 published at 7th of February 2024.

Rank Name Pop. Rank Name Pop. Istanbul Ankara 1 Istanbul 15,655,924 11 Mersin 1,938,389 İzmir Bursa 2 Ankara 5,803,482 12 Diyarbakır 1,818,133 3 İzmir 4,479,525 13 Hatay 1,544,640 4 Bursa 3,214,571 14 Manisa 1,475,716 5 Antalya 2,696,249 15 Kayseri 1,445,683 6 Konya 2,320,241 16 Samsun 1,377,546 7 Adana 2,270,298 17 Balıkesir 1,273,519 8 Şanlıurfa 2,213,964 18 Tekirdağ 1,167,059 9 Gaziantep 2,164,134 19 Aydın 1,161,702 10 Kocaeli 2,102,907 20 Van 1,127,612

• Geography
• Kurdistan
• Turkey

• World Heritage Sites in Turkey
• Use dmy dates from May 2011
• Diyarbakır
• Cities in Turkey
• Districts of Diyarbakır Province
• Populated places in Diyarbakır Province
• Turkish Kurdistan
• Upper Mesopotamia
• Kurdish settlements
• Assyrian communities in Turkey
• Ancient Assyrian cities
• Tur Abdin