Hasankeyf Archeological Site

Hasankeyf Mound (Hasankeyf Höyüğü), at the Tigris River, carries the traces of the second half of the 10th millennium BCE, and archaeological excavations proof that it provided the soils for one of the very first settlements during the 10th millennium. Hasankeyf was conquered by the Muslim armies during the time of Khalifah Omar. The settlement, which witnessed the rule of the Umayyads, Abbasids, Hamdanids and Marwanids, was conquered by the Artuqids in 1102 and became their capital for a long time. After 1232 it came under the rule of the Ayyubids, then under the rule of the Aq Qoyunlu after 1462, and finally of the Ottomans after 1516. There are many examples of religious, military and civil architecture in Hasankeyf, which hosted great civilizations. The calcareous land structure surrounding Hasankeyf from south and southeast provided the necessary conditions for the formation of an amazing landscape, creating the impression as if nature and human worked hand in hand to shape the deep and magnificent canyons and the cave houses in them. This region, with thousands of caves, is a rare natural wonder in the world.