FROM SOURCE:

Diyarbakir, where the first human settlement dates back almost ten thousand years, has always stood at an important point of intersection at the northern boundary of Mesopotamian civilizations and the southern boundary of Anatolian ones. This particular location created fertile grounds for cultural diversity as much as it brought political activity and commercial dynamism to the city. Such crossroads have always been places frequented by travellers, way stations for a brief respite. Their accounts, therefore, allow for the writing of an 'other; alternative history of these lands.

Diyarbakir had its fair share of visitors of this kind. Some were impressed by its architecture, others its geography. Some wrote, "I know of no other place better fortified and of more critical standing possessed by the Muslims on their frontier:' Others were unable to hide their admiration, saying "I have seen many a city and fortress around the world in the lands of the Arabs, Persians, Hindus, and Turks, but never have I seen the likes of Amid on the face of the earth or have I heard anyone else say that he had seen its equal."

Accounts, in particular, by travellers who passed through the region from the mid-Medieval period up to the establishment of Ottoman rule reveal traces of the many changes experienced by the city.