Diyarbakır is the main city in Turkey’s Southeast region, populated mainly by Kurds. This was taken in the courtyard of a han, or caravanseray, especially popular in the days of the old Silk Road.
When we first arrived in Turkey in 1996, embassy staff were prohibited from traveling to the Southeast due to a years-long conflict there between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by the US, Turkey and the EU, and the Turkish security forces. The situation eased up, and travel to the region was once again permitted, but driving around there was at times uncomfortable and uncertain. I remember police checkpoints on the main roads, and an unfriendly atmosphere in Diyarbakır while we were there.
Diyarbakır street scene, posted earlier:
