Diyarbakır: the black walls on the Tigris

Ringed by basalt walls among the world's longest after the Great Wall of China, Diyarbakır dominates the upper course of the Tigris river in southeastern Anatolia.

The centre, ringed by black basalt walls overlooking the Tigris, is easily explored on foot.

The Walls of Diyarbakir, almost six kilometers of black basalt dating to the Roman era and repeatedly enlarged, remain among the longest still-existing urban fortifications in the world.

A short walk away, the Grand Mosque, built in the eleventh century on a former Byzantine church, is considered among the oldest still in use throughout Anatolia.

Continuing, one visits the Ten-Eyed Bridge, a medieval Seljuk bridge that still crosses the Tigris River with its dark stone arches.

In the evening, the alleys of the historic center, with their local black stone houses, enliven the city's traditional bazaar.

The black walls of Diyarbakır, built with blocks of local volcanic basalt, give the entire old city an unusual dark tone compared to most historic cities of the Middle East.

The region around Diyarbakır is inhabited largely by Kurdish population, and the city remains an important cultural and political center for the Kurdish community of Turkey.