Diyarbakır – a city in the south-east Turkey, in the valley of Tigris and Euphrates, one of the biggest in this region. It is very important city, has around 930 thousand citizens. It is the unofficial capital of the Turkish part of Kurdistan, and also the place, where there are a bit less restrictive rules than in other parts of Turkey.
If you wonder which fragment of the city to see as first – go to its old part, surrounded by the city’s walls, that have around 6 kilometres of length. You can get there through one of the four gates; each of them symbolize different side of the world. Parts of walls and towers were renovated and can certainly make an impression. Go for a walk along them, so that you can admire both the old part of the city, and fertile, green areas of the mouth of Tigris. The walls can be also admired from the outside, from a perspective of park situated beneath, while tasting tea served by one of local vendors.
When it comes to shopping – you won’t find there a lot of shopping malls – better to go to one of markets, situated in the old town. There is a cheese market and other thematic markets. Visiting them, you will see how important is this type of trade in society. Apart from numerous bazars, in the old town you will find mosques and also – which is rare in the rest of Turkey – sanctuaries of other religions. Do you fancy trying Turkish cuisine? Go to Onur Ocakbasi at Dabanoglu Mah. Varol Sok. 6 or to Selim Amca'nin Sofra Salonu at Ali Emiri Caddesi.
If you reached the city by bus, your journey must have ended on the main terminal. It is located in quite some distance from the old town, so we recommend you to get there by dolmush, which is fast. An airport located closest to Diyarbakır is Diyarbakır Havalimanı - around five kilometres from the city. It offers internal flights only.
