ITINERARY

• This historical river mentioned in the Book of Genesis is a must-see place with its natural beauty. Its length is 1900 km, with 523 km of it in Turkey. Surrounded by four countries (Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria), the Tigris River is the second largest river in western Asia. With the Euphrates, it makes up a river system that borders Mesopotamia in the area known as the Fertile Crescent. An important source of both travel and irrigation, the Tigris also has a rich history that dates back to the earliest known civilizations because of its importance to a largely arid region.
• The fortress is a historical one. It consists of an inner fortress and an outer fortress. It has four main gates that are called Dag gate, Urfa gate, Mardin gate and Yeni gate. The walls come from the old Roman city of Amida and were constructed in their present form in the mid-fourth century AD by the emperor Constantius II.
• Diyarbakir Archeology Museum has been serving since 1934. It exhibits priceless historical artifacts which were obtained from excavations in the Mesopotamian plain.
• The caravan saray was built between 1572 and 1575 by Vezirzade Hasan Pasha, the son of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha, the Governor of Diyarbakir. Its architecture is beautiful, and it has many places inside to have a cup of tea, meals and souvenirs.
• With its length of 6 kilometers, the City Walls of Diyarbakir are the second largest in the world after the Great Wall of China. It is situated 100 meters above the valley of the Tigris River. Diyarbakir still carries a medieval atmosphere with its walls encircling the city with its almost intact and impressive, 10-12 meters high and 3-5 meters thick walls.
• The Grand Mosque of Diyarbakir is the oldest and one of the most significant mosques in Mesopotamia. Various sources stated that the structure was transformed from the Mar Toma church upon the entry of Islam into the city in the year of 639. The plan and dimensions of Mar Toma church are not known today. After the city passed into the rule of the Seljuks in 1085, the building underwent comprehensive repair. Completed in 1092, the mosque is similar to and heavily influenced by the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus (which was repaired under the same Sultan Malik Shah in the twelfth century prior to work in Diyarbakir). The influence of the Damascus mosque brought Syrian architecture and decoration to Anatolia. The many inscriptions on the building show that in the following periods, it was restored by many different civilizations, with multiple additions made.
• This unique minaret is square instead of round and stands on 4 legs. Some believe it represents 4 different sects of Islam.
• The 10 Arches Bridge (also known as the Tigris Bridge) is a historic bridge in Diyarbakir over the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Completed in 1065 during the Marwanid dynasty, it numbers ten arches with a total length of 178 m. Hence, it is locally called the 10 Arches Bridge (On Gözlü Köprü / Pira Dehderî).