Diyarbakır

Hikayemiz

Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province. With a population of about 930,000 it is the second largest city in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, after Gaziantep.Diyarbakir is considered the unofficial capital of Turkish Kurdistan. As such, it has been a focal point for conflict between Turkey's government and Kurdish insurgent groups.Names and etymologyThe name Diyarbakir is inscribed as Amid 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.