Turkey Guide
The Euphrates and Tigris basin
Hasankeyf
The spectacular ruined settlement of Hasankeyf, built on and around a rocky spur on the banks of the Tigris, contains remarkable medieval remains of Selçuk, Arabic and Kurdish origin. The original settlement was founded by the Romans as an eastern bastion of Asia Minor, and later became the Byzantine bishopric of Cephe. In 640, the conquering Arabs changed the town's name to Hisn Kayfa. During the twelfth century the Artukid Turcoman tribe made it the capital of their realm, which it remained until the Mongols arrived in 1260. Hasankeyf then served as the stronghold of the Ayyubids, a clan of Kurdish chieftains supplanted by the Ottomans early in the fifteenth century.
The modern town trails along for several hundred metres, overshadowed by the ruined Artukid city to the southwest, which covers two square kilometres of a cliff-top above the right bank of the Tigris river. The site (always open; 2YTL) is reached by turning west down a narrow paved street just west of the modern Tigris bridge. After a kilometre look out for a ruined gateway halfway up the right side of the gorge, beyond which a stone pathway, currently being restored, leads uphill to the twelfth-century palace of the Artukid kings, perched high above the Tigris. From here there is a fine view of the river, a sheer drop of several hundred metres below, while behind you stretches the rest of the city. Although they look like standard-issue ruins from the road, many of its skeletal houses contain intricate decorative features. Particularly impressive are the well-preserved mosque and a couple of domed tombs.
To get a closer look at the Tigris, head back towards town and turn left by a gorgeous carved minaret (that of the El Rizk Camii, a fourteenth-century Ayyubid construction) to drop down to the river bank, where families come to paddle, wash their cars and eat at the summer-season fish and grill restaurants. The several hundred steps carved into the sheer cliff-face, which give secret access to the Artukid palace above, have been closed on grounds of safety. Just downstream are the four pillars of an old Artukid bridge that in its day was apparently one of the finest in Anatolia.
The fifteenth-century Zeyn El-Abdin Türbesi, a sizable, onion-domed cylindrical building clad in glazed turquoise tiles and red brick, is conspicuously isolated in a walled orchard on the north bank. Possibly the most Timurid-influenced monument in Turkey, it is easily reached on foot, starting opposite a filling station on the main road towards Batman, or via the north bank of the Tigris from the bridge.
Practicalities
The journey north from Midyat to Hasankeyf involves a gradual, scenic descent towards the river and provides an excellent return route to Diyarbakır, without having to backtrack to Mardin. Regular dolmuşes run from Hasankeyf to Batman (1hr, 2YTL), where you change buses for the final leg of the journey to Diyarbakır (1.5hr, 4TL) along an attractive green gorge of the Tigris, but these local buses stop running at about 6pm.
Hasankeyf has basic accommodation, and an overnight stay is recommended especially for photographers, as the morning and evening lighting effects are spectacular. The Oğretmen Evi on the south side of the bridge is only open to tourists in June, July and August (the rest of the year it houses teachers working in the local villages). This provides basic waterless rooms with bunk beds for €3 and has a shady courtyard where tea and soft drinks are served. Just below and opposite the Oğretmen Evi is the Hasankeyf Motel (Price: €14-24), with dirty carpets, no hot water and no en-suite rooms, but great views over the river. The Antik Kent Et Lokantası on the main street is good for soup, grills and lahmacun, as is the nearby Fırınlı Et Lokantası. Further up is the Kardeşler Internet café on the east of the main road, and a small PTT on the west. There's an ATM back towards the river.