ADD-ON MODULE IV | June 11th-15th
Diyarbakır / Amida, on the Tigris, the metropolitan centre of the Kurdish region, has archaeological roots dating back approximately eight millennia, while the earliest mentions of an urban centre at this site in Assyrian written sources appear around four millennia ago. The present formation of the old town, enclosed by its well-preserved city walls, derives from the Roman garrison and outpost along the Mesopotamian limes. From the Middle Ages onward, the city evolved into a multiethnic crossroads and the administrative centre of the province.
In recent years, substantial sections of the historic core have been subjected to a textbook case of state-led gentrification, transforming the area into historicist real estate and revealing underlying dynamics of local Kulturkampf and class conflict.
The “picturesque” old town of Mardin, overlooking the Mesopotamian plains, is located close to the Syrian border. The city, with very ancient roots and a layered Aramaic, Arabic, and Turcoman heritage, suffered throughout the twentieth century both demographically and structurally. Its striking revival in recent decades is far from one-dimensional: a multitude of cultural, artistic, social, and political initiatives intersect with classical gentrification and over-tourism, while the wider metropolitan area has been profoundly reshaped by refugees from the Syrian civil war. Our visit to Mardin will coincide with the 7th Mardin Biennale, a major pillar of the cultural and political life of the city.
We will spend two nights in each location. En route, we will have stopovers in Batman, which expanded within a few decades from a village into a metropolis as a result of state-driven industrial investment; Hasankeyf, an ancient settlement displaced following a major infrastructure project on the Tigris and rebuilt as a newly constructed, theme-park-like site; and Midyat, where Aramaic is still spoken. Midyat will also serve as the starting point for an excursion to an Ezidi village in the hinterland, currently in the process of being rebuilt and resettled.
Overall, the region has experienced intense hyper-urbanisation over recent decades, while armed conflict prevailed in the countryside. Peaceful for over a decade, it is now characterised by an extraordinary density of civic activity, while minority identities—Armenian, Aramaic, and Ezidi—are regaining visibility through the reconstruction of heritage sites. Taken together, these dynamics contribute to what may be described as a cautious mood of “taking-off”.
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