Walls of Diyarbakır - a photo on Flickriver

            Diyarbakır '22

Diyarbakır is the modern city built in the foundations of ancient Amida. Amida was an important site since the Bronze Age – the citadel is impressively defendable while there is a ford in the Tigris River just downstream. However, it is probably best remembered as Rome's eastern outpost on the Persian frontier. Amida was expanded into a city given its circuit walls under Constantius II (r. 337-361). While the walls in place today are largely medieval the Roman wall forms their core and they mostly follow the same route.

What makes this particularly exciting is that the city walls are largely intact to this day. There was an effort made in the 1930s to tear the walls down to increase air flow in the hot summer months, but apart from the rough holes where the main road passes from north to south the walls are mainly intact. When I was first there it was difficult to see the walls due to houses being built right up against them, but the area has since gone through a violent insurgence and even more ruthless repression that, one result of which is that large empty spaces now stand where people once lived. The Turkish government, to their credit, has put a lot of work into restoring Diyarbakır and its tourism potential. The suppression cleared most of the houses abutting on the wall and allowed them to create a much more open, walkable space around the city. The southern and eastern stretch now consist of popular and well-maintained pedestrian paths. The western stretch is mostly just earth, but they were hard at work on it when I visited and it may well now be as pedestrianized and popular as the southeast.

If you're visiting Diyarbakır make sure you give careful consideration of the climate. The temperature regularly stays above 100°F (38°C) during the summer months and within Sur (the historical center) the walls keep the cooling wind out. It was 112°F (45°C) when I first went there in early July, and in running up and down the walls with no shade I suffered a collapse from heat exhaustion. There's a reason the locals lounge about in the walls' shade during the day, and it's not laziness! For my second visit (in mid-June) I was better prepared. I went out at 5:30 in the morning (as soon as the sun rose) and finished my circuit of the walls before 10. I was pretty comfortable as a result, but even then it was getting hot by the end. If you're not able to visit during the non-summer months (September-May) be prepared to make compromises like that. I found the best thing to do was do all my driving in mid-day so I could stay in an air-conditioned vehicle and get the best view of the countryside.

Taken in: Turkey / Diyarbakır / Sur (show map)

Taken on: June 3, 2022

Tags:

Diyarbakır

Turkey

Archaeological

Ancient

Antique

Classical

Roman

Wall

Diyarbakir

Amed

Amida

Amid

ܐܡ

七

Türkiye « less

Sets appears in: • Asia • Turkey more » • Roman Anatolia • Mesopotamia 2022 « less

Groups appears in: • Turkey / Türkiye • Your Favorite Photos - Unlimited! more » • Türkiye • Roman Empire • Best Shot • Turkey - People & Friends of Turkey • The Ancient World • * Roman Empire * Sets * • Turkey Turkey • Türkiye Türkei • Classical Antiquity • i love Turkey • Turkey | I dream of Turkey • Romanitas - Pictures and Videos of the Ancient Roman Empire • Best of Asia (New rule will be applied after mid of Jan 2010) • West & South of Turkey / Türkiye • Classical Antiquity: Art & Architecture • THE ROMAN EMPIRE • Mesopotamia • Ancient Near East • Walls all over the world • Beautiful Capture • I LOVE ROME • I was in Turkey • Your Best Photography • Classical Architecture. • ANTICANDO!!!(P2/Aw3)Please,only Subject ANCIENT • SONY ALPHA CLUB • Stadtbefestigung, Mura Cittadina, Remparts, Murallas Urbanas,Cit • The Classical World • Tamron 28-200 • Ancient Warfare • Sony Alpha World • Sony Alpha Community • All That Is Rome!!! • The Archeology and The Historical places of Ancient Turkey • diyarbakir • Tamron Lens Users (USA) • "Most Beautiful Pictures" • The ancient Near East and its cultural heritage • Travel Guide Of Turkey • Asia's Best • Civilizations of the Ancient Near East • Sony • Ancient Rome Empire • Best of Turkey • DİYARBAKIR • Turkey – Türkiye - Турция / www.cevatzade.com • Ancient / Archaeological • The SONY Alpha E-Mount • Travel Turkey • Sony Full Frame Showcase • Sony ILC Group (A7 & A7R) • Sony Alpha A7 • Sony a7 & a7R (ILCE-7 & ILCE-7R) • PHOTOS OF TURKEY • Sony A7ii • The World of Ancient Architecture • SONY A7II (ILCE-7M2) • SonyAlphaLab - Share Your Sony Photos! • Team Sony • Sony Alpha Türkiye • Roman Forts • ANCIENT WORLD • Historical Turkey, Ottoman Empire and older (Türkiye tarihi, os • Sony A7 (All Models) • *** I love Sony Alpha *** • Tamron 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD (No 30/60 & # Limits) • Join the Best • !!!Awesome « less

Camera: Sony ILCE-7M2, f/9.0, 1/160 sec, 28mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7M2
Lens:	E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	28mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 11.4 (Windows)
Show full info

Stats: 2,531 views / 3 comments

go back