Initially Diyarbakir was just meant to be a convenient stop on the way from Gaziantep (near the Syrian border) to Erzurum (in the Northeast).  It sounded mildly interesting in the guidebook but references to rising urban poverty and stone-throwing gangs of streetchildren made me doubtful.  It turns out to be a very pleasant small city with some fascinating history.  Little did I know that Diyarbakir is the unofficial capital of Kurdistan and is one of the few cities in the world with a predominantly Kurdish population.

The Kurds have had a rough time of it throughout history and their struggle for cultural independence continues today.  This region of Eastern Turkey was virtually off-limits ten years ago while the Turkish government and the militant PKK battled it out in the hillside villages and small towns of the Southeastern Anatolia.  Inevitably, thousands of people fled the countryside for the relative safety of the cities and larger towns leading to rising urban poverty and overcrowding.

Diyarbakir maintains a small-town feel despite it’s swelling population.  The city is completely surrounded by over 6 kilometers of black basalt defensive walls originally built by the Romans. From their top you can see the Tigris river meandering it’s way around the outskirts of town through melon fields and modern suburbs.  Just outside the walls are the unavoidable urban slums but all along the inside is a grassy narrow park lined with trees.  Inside the city walls are a dozen mosques and churches of various antiquity including the Ulu Camii or “Great Mosque” (seen above) with it’s black and white striped walls surrounding a quiet courtyard populated by old men passing the day in each other’s company.

Despite the impressive walls, ancient buildings and intriguing history, it’s the ubiquity of these smartly-dressed old men huddled over chai at every street corner that I will remember best.