Population
1,100,000
Coordinates
37.914°, 40.231°
Region
Turkey
Views
3
The Black City, unofficial capital of the Kurds in Turkey, ringed by basalt walls built two millennia ago.
The city's history
Amed (Diyarbakır)
Amed was founded on the bank of the Tigris in the 4th millennium BC. It became the capital of the Kurdish Marwanid emirate in the 10th century, and later the seat of the Bohtan emirate. Its black basalt walls — 5.5 km long — are second only to the Great Wall of China. UNESCO World Heritage since 2015. Today it is the heart of the Kurdish cultural and political movement in Turkey.
On the map
Other cities in Turkey