به روز رسانی در01 September 2024

3 دقیقه

The Four-Legged Minaret in Diyarbakir

The city of Diyarbakir is one of the old cities in Turkey with a lot of historical monuments, which the most famous of these works is the Four-Legged Minaret of Diyarbakir. This minaret, a part of a mosque on the side of the street, is one of the city's main symbols and has great religious, historical and political importance.

Getting to Know Diyarbakir

The city of "Diyarbakir" in the southeast of Turkey, located in the province of the same name, is considered one of this country's largest and most important Kurdish cities. This city, unofficially known as the capital of Turkish Kurdistan, is located on the bed of the "Tigris River (Dicle Nehri)" and is considered part of the South Anatolian region.

The city of Diyarbakir was considered one of the main garrisons of this dynasty during the Ottoman Empire period, and for this reason, many high towers and the remains of several castles can be seen in it. It should be noted that Diyarbakir has been under governments such as Iranians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols and Turks in different periods of history, and it seems that it got its name from an Arab General named "Banu Bakr bin Wa'il" in the century It took 7 AD.

Note: Regardless of where you come from, one of the best options for travel is Diyarbakir Tours, which includes visiting most of the city's tourist attractions.

Map of Diyarbakir, Turkey

As mentioned earlier, Diyarbakir is located in the southeast of Turkey and has a mostly Mediterranean or Oceanic climate, thus, it has hot and dry summers and cold winters with light snowfall. Accordingly, if you plan to visit this city, spring and autumn are the best seasons to travel and buy flight tickets to Diyarbakir.

Living in Diyarbakir

The experience of living in Diyarbakir is very pleasant and relaxing, which may be the main reason for the compatibility of the ethnic groups living in this city despite the ethnic and religious differences. This city, which still maintains its traditional and historical atmosphere, has managed to create a good harmony between modern life at the same time; it is worth mentioning that this city is known as the "City of Walls (Sur Kenti)".

Therefore, travelers who come to this city can enjoy the contrast and harmony of the historical nature of Diyarbakir with the life of the present age and its manifestations; because this has made living in Diyarbakir quiet and far from the hustle and bustle of cities like Istanbul; in this regard, even the daily price of car rental in Turkey in such cities is lower than the more well-known cities of this country.

Photo of Diyarbakir

According to what has been said, there are many historical and natural monuments in Diyarbakir, along with beautiful and modern urban buildings, making photography in Diyarbakir one of the fun activities for tourists. This issue could be considered one of the main reasons for the many photos of Diyarbakir on social networks.

Note: By renting a car in Diyarbakir, you will have easier and faster access to this city's tourist attractions, and you can greatly reduce your travel and transportation costs.

Diyarbakir Tourist Attractions

Another important feature of Diyarbakir, due to its antiquity and importance in terms of history and nature, is the number of tourist attractions that can be easily seen in all its parts; based on this, considering that the tourist attractions of Diyarbakir can be divided into the following three categories, the most famous of them are as follows:

Important Note: As mentioned before, due to the availability of car rental in Turkey at the best price and in cities like Diyarbakir, this measure, in addition to reducing your transportation costs, helps you to go to the following tourist attractions very easily.

Natural Attractions of Diyarbakir

When it comes to the natural attractions of Diyarbakir, the Tigris River and its surrounding green areas are among the first options; also, "Hevsel Gardens (Hevsel Bahceleri)" between the Tigris River and Diyarbakir Castle, which includes agricultural lands and numerous gardens, due to their age dating back to the 9th century, are among the other attractions of this city.

Among other natural attractions of Diyarbakır, we can mention "Seyhandede Fall (Şeyhandede Şelalesi)" 10 km east of the city center and in a quiet and cozy area that is suitable for camping and picnics; at the same time, "Hilar and Birkleyn Caves (Hilar ve Birkleyn Mağarası,)" the first one is 15 km northwest and the second one is 85 km north of Diyarbakır, are suitable places to explore the chilly atmosphere of the cave and see their beauty.

In addition to these attractions, "Gelincik Mount (Gelincik Dağı)" is located 60 km northwest of the city center, near which there is "Melike Belkis Hotsprings (Melike Belkıs Kaplıcaları)," a great place for camping, picnics, and enjoying the pleasant and healing heat.

Urban Attractions of Diyarbakir

Undoubtedly, in any city, especially with historical features, museums are one of the important tourist attractions that can provide us with interesting information about the culture and lifestyle of the past; these museums, which are considered among urban attractions, the most popular ones in Diyarbakir are:

The Most Popular Museums in Diyarbakir

Cahit Sitki Taranci House Cultural Museum

Diyarbakir Archeology Museum

Cemil Pasha Mansion Museum

Seman Köşkü Mansion Museum

Ziya Gokalp House Museum

Diyarbakır Art Center

Ziya Gokalp Museum

Atatürk Museum

Kurdish Museum

Water Museum

In addition to museums, other urban attractions of Diyarbakir that can be mentioned are its parks; these parks, which, in addition to beautifying the city, provide suitable spaces for rest or spending time with friends and others, are of particular importance and popularity; some of the best parks in Diyarbakir are:

The Most Popular Parks in Diyarbakir

Halil İbrahim Oruç Parkı

15 Temmuz Şehitler Parki

Hz Süleyman Parkı

Koşuyolu Parkı

Kardeşlik Parkı

Goletli Park

Nevruz Park

Sümer Park

Park Pond

Theme Park

Note: If the car rental company does not have a mileage limit, for example, you can rent a car in Van, Turkey and at the end of your travel, return it to the relevant company in Diyarbakir.

Historical Attractions of Diyarbakir

In a general view, the historical attractions of Diyarbakir can be divided into ancient walls and castles, historical temples and bazaars and caravanserais; in this way, in addition to being able to visit the walls left from the Achaemenid period around and even the center of the city, the remains of strategic fortresses that witnessed important battles throughout history will increase the attractiveness of your trip.

Also, centers such as historical temples, churches and mosques, along with old bazaars and caravanserais located in different parts of the city, are good options for those interested in history and buildings with old architecture; so, the main historical attractions of Diyarbakir can be mentioned as follows:

The Most Popular Historical Attractions of Diyarbakir

Grand Mosque

Diyarbakır City Walls

Dengbej House

Hasankeyf Old Bridge (Hasankeyf Eski Köprü)

Ten Eye Bridge (On Gozlu Koprusu)

Goat Tower

Surp Giragos Church

Four-Legged Minaret

Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church

Suluklu Han Caravanserai/Cafe

Undoubtedly, one of Diyarbakir's most famous tourist attractions, along with numerous historical castles, is the historical tower or minaret on four stone pillars. This tower, known as the Four-Legged Minaret (Dört Ayaklı Minare), is part of the 500-year-old "Seyh Grand Mosque," which is also the site of "Sheikh Matar's Tomb".

According to the inscription installed in the minaret, this mosque was built in 1500 AD by "Hajji Hüseyin, son of Hajji Ömer" during the reign of "Ag Qoyunlus" and the reign of "Sultan Kasım Han". It should be noted that this mosque and minaret are located on "Yenikapı" street and "Savaş" neighborhood, which is known as "Dört Ayaklı Minare" neighborhood among local people.

Note: If you are also interested in having a view of the Four-Legged Minaret in addition to easy access to different areas of the city, you can book a hotel in Diyarbakir in this area.

The History of the Four-legged Minaret

According to the "Yearbook of Diyarbakir (Salnımeleri Diyarbakır)," this minaret was first built outside the mosque area and as a plain watch tower around 906 BC; but when Muslims conquered this region, and people converted to Islam, this minaret was rebuilt in 1500 by the order of "Hajji Hüseyin" and became a part of the mosque. In the same period, four unique columns were added to the minaret and turned into its present form.

From that time until now, the call to prayer has been heard five times a day from its stone garland, and it has not only become a symbol of Islam but also a symbol of unity among Muslims. According to the beliefs of local people, any person who passes through these four pillars seven times will fulfill all wishes of that person.

Features of the Diyarbakir Four-Legged Minaret

Diyarbakir's 25-meter-high Four-Legged Minaret is built as a long tower with a prism-like structure on top of it, on four relatively short columns. Today, local people believe that the four pillars at the base of the minaret symbolize the four main sects of Sunni Islam, namely "Hanafi," "Hanbali," "Maliki," and "Shafi'i"; this mosque was restored in 1960 by the General Directorate of Foundations, and it is also the place where a tragic political assassination took place.

Four-Legged Minaret, the Place of a Tragic Assassination

On November 28, 2015, when local politician "Tahir Elçi" held a press conference at the base of this minaret in the afternoon, he was assassinated by gunfire; after returning to his vehicle, he was shot and killed by someone who was lying in wait.

Therefore, if you want to take an important result from this event, it is the increase of awareness over time according to historical and modern values; therefore, there is no place as suitable as this to remind the commitment and adherence to national and patriotic values.

Distance between Diyarbakir and Istanbul

In general, the approximate distance between Istanbul in the northeast of Turkey and Diyarbakir in the southeast of this country is 1450 km, which can be traveled in 4 different ways; choosing these methods, which depends on your taste, budget, purpose of the trip and its duration, is possible in the following ways:

Traveling by Plane from Istanbul to Diyarbakir:

·          for this purpose, you can book your ticket to "Diyarbakir Airport" to Istanbul airports (New or Sabiha), depending on your access to each of them; this flight lasts about 2 hours, and if you have rent a furnished house in Istanbul and around Taksim Square, the Istanbul New Airport will be closer to you.

Traveling by Train from Istanbul to Diyarbakir:

·          You can choose one of the following two rail routes to travel by train from Istanbul to Diyarbakir, which is one of the cheapest ways to travel between these two cities; it should be noted that the "Istanbul-Sivas-Diyarbakir" railway route took about 20 hours and the "Istanbul-Ankara-Diyarbakir" railway route took about 28 hours.

Note: If you book a hotel in Istanbul in Taksim Square, you will not only have a faster access to the train station, but you can also easily visit several important tourist attractions nearby, such as the Hagia Sophia Mosque.

·         Traveling by Bus from Istanbul to Diyarbakir: Contrary to what most people believe, traveling by bus between Istanbul and Diyarbakir is relatively expensive and takes about 20 hours. For this purpose, you can go to the Istanbul Bus Terminal and buy a ticket to Diyarbakir or vice versa.

·         Traveling by a Private or Rented Car from Istanbul to Diyarbakir: Usually, traveling by a private or rented car is done when, in addition to sightseeing in Istanbul and Diyarbakir, you also want to visit other Turkish tourist attractions on your way; such a trip, will take nearly 16 hours without stopping on the way or in any of the cities in between.

Distance from Van to Diyarbakir

Van, located to the east of Diyarbakir at an approximate distance of 365 kilometers, is one of Turkey's major tourist destinations, that some tourists, after visiting attractions such as "Lake Van (Van Gölü)," are interested in traveling to Diyarbakir, which is nearby. This trip, the most common method of which is a combined trip by bus, must first go to "Bitlis" from Van's travel bus terminal, then take a taxi to "Siirt" and then take a bus to Diyarbakir.

This trip, which takes about 9 hours at its best, will last nearly 14 hours if you want to go by bus on the "Van-Erzurum-Diyarbakir" route; therefore, the most reasonable way to travel from Van to Diyarbakir or vice versa, due to the reasonable price of renting a car in Turkey, is such an action. Note that although this route can be traveled by plane in 4 hours and 20 minutes, the plane will first go from Van to Istanbul, and from there, it will fly to Diyarbakir.

Separation of Diyarbakir from Iran

According to historical traditions, large parts of Eastern Anatolia, including cities such as Diyarbakir and Van, as well as northern Iraq, were part of the territory of "Shah Ismail I" in the "Safavid" era; but in 1514 AD, due to the campaign of "Sultan Selim I" of the Ottoman emperors and his superiority due to having more artillery and soldiers, he was able to take over all the mentioned areas.

This battle later became known as the "Battle of Chaldiran," after which the Iranians could not regain these areas from the Ottomans.

Famous Dishes of Diyarbakir

Another attractive feature of Diyarbakir is its famous and delicious foods, some of which are specific to this region and some of which are common Turkish dishes with different recipes. Based on this, the famous Diyarbakir dishes that are more popular among tourists can be mentioned as follows:

·         İçli Köfte/Kibbek

·         Şıngıl Kebabı

·         Harise

·         Lebeni/Mehir

·         Duvaklı Pilav

·         Kaburga Dolması/ Kelek

·         Ayvalı Kavurma

·         Kenger Pilavı

·         Duvaklı Pilav

·         Burma Kadayıfı

نویسنده:

Taimaz Golzar

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