Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape - one of must-see UNESCO World Heritage sites in Turkiye

Baku, April 15, AZERTAC Located in the Turkish province of Diyarbakir on an escarpment of the Upper Tigris River Basin that is part of the so-called Fertile Crescent, the fortified city of Diyarbakır and the landscape around has been an important centre since the Hellenistic period, through the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman times to the present. The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 as a cultural and historical asset. According to UNESCO’s official website, the site encompasses the Inner castle, known as İçkale and including the Amida Mound, and the 5.8 km-long city walls of Diyarbakır with their numerous towers, gates, buttresses, and 63 inscriptions. The site also includes the Hevsel Gardens, a green link between the city and the Tigris that supplied the city with food and water, the Anzele water source and the Ten-Eyed Bridge. The City Walls, and the evidence of their damage, repair and reinforcement since the Roman period, present a powerful physical and visual testimony of the many periods of the region’s history. The attributes of this property include the İçkale (Inner Castle), Diyarbakır City Walls (known as the Dişkale or Outer Castle), including its towers, gates and inscriptions, the Hevsel Gardens, the Tigris River and Valley, and the Ten-Eyed Bridge. The ability to view the walls within their urban and landscape settings is significant, as are the hydrological and natural resources that support the functional and visual qualities of the property. The rare and impressive Diyarbakır Fortress and the associated Hevsel Gardens illustrate a number of significant historical periods within this region from the Roman period until the present through its extensive masonry city walls and gates (including many repairs and additions), inscriptions, gardens/fields and the landscape setting in relation to the Tigris River.