Diyarbakir, Diyarbakir, Turkey: EXPERIENCE DIYARBAKIR

The Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, in collaboration with the Diyarbakır Governorship, launched the "Experience Diyarbakır" project in 2022. The film directors, Feride Vural and Ömer Ceyhan, embarked on weeks of exploration trips, covering kilometers of distance, to develop the concept and screenplay for the "Experience Diyarbakır" film. They aimed to create a music piece that would best express the historical and cultural essence of Diyarbakır, incorporating an East-West synthesis. To achieve this, they invited musician Mehmet Yeşilçay from Germany to Diyarbakır.

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ABOUT DİYARBAKIR HISTORY

Diyarbakır is one of the oldest settlements of the history of humanity that mixt whole heritage of Mesopotamia, and was established 12 thousand 500 years ago on the benevolent land of Dicle basin whose water flows from the heaven as related. It was hosted 33 civilizations from Assyrians to Persians, Romans to Rashidun Caliphate, Great Seljuk to Ottomans. In Diyarbakır, where 9 prophets’ and more than 500 Prophet Muhammed’s companions’ tombs exist, there are temples of the three great religions. In the city, there are great number of mosques and a great number of churches which had witnessed all the phases of Christianity.

Mehmet Yeşilçay extensively explored Diyarbakır for over a week and composed the "Surname" piece within a period of about two weeks. The recording took place in Istanbul, where the most prominent musicians from symphony orchestras gathered. Notable figures, including members of the Pera Ensemble such as Derya Türkan, Volkan Yılmaz, Serkan Mesut Halili, Enes Duruceylan, and Ali Yılmaz, contributed to the project using traditional Turkish musical instruments. The mixing and arrangements were handled by Bernhard Hanke, with mastering performed by Christoph Stickel.  

The symphonic composition, "Sur Nâme," uniquely expresses the historical and cultural beauty of Diyarbakır and serves as an invitation for listeners to experience the city. Consisting of three parts, "Sur Nâme" showcases Diyarbakır's charm. Over 100 locations across the 12 districts of Diyarbakır were filmed for the project. The film crew, comprised of approximately 50 individuals, collaborated with award-winning directors, cinematographers, and renowned drone operators from Turkey. The final scene of the film was shot in the iconic Sur district, known for its cultural heritage, particularly the Goat Gate.

• The cultural diversity and multilingual nature of Diyarbakır have been highlighted. The support for arts and cultural events representing different ethnic and linguistic groups has fostered an inclusive environment.
• The project has enhanced the image and promotion of Diyarbakır at national and international levels. The cultural and tourism-related events and projects have attracted more tourists and increased the number of visitors.
• The project has had positive impacts on social integration and community cohesion. It has facilitated dialogue and interaction among different segments of society, and shared cultural events have brought people together.
• After the videos made and broadcasted about cuisine belongs to Diyarbakır, the gastronomy companies in Diyarbakır have started taking orders by online marketing all around Türkiye, the national TV channels have started making news, shooting documentary films and travel programs about Diyarbakır gastronomy.
• The video has been watched by 15 million people.
• The employment rate in the city has increased by 15%, with the opening of 15 new hotels totaling 5,000 beds, and over 3,000 people employed in the tourism sector.
• The number of tourists visiting Diyarbakır in 2023 has increased by 150% compared to the previous year.
• Since 2022, 5 million people have visited the historical sites in Diyarbakır.
• Diyarbakır cuisine events have been organized every May since 2 years ago to promote and showcase the local cuisine. These events have attracted a total of 2 million participants in one year.
• In 2023, 500,000 domestic and foreign tourists visited Diyarbakır for the first time.
• In 2023, Diyarbakır was visited by 750,000 tourists from 26 countries.
• The cultural diversity and multilingual nature of Diyarbakır have been highlighted. The support for arts and cultural events representing different ethnic and linguistic groups has fostered an inclusive environment.
• The project has enhanced the image and promotion of Diyarbakır at national and international levels. The cultural and tourism-related events and projects have attracted more tourists and increased the number of visitors.
• The project has had positive impacts on social integration and community cohesion. It has facilitated dialogue and interaction among different segments of society, and shared cultural events have brought people together.
• After videos were made and broadcasted about Diyarbakır's cuisine, gastronomy companies in Diyarbakır started taking online orders from all around Turkey. National TV channels started covering news, filming documentary films, and producing travel programs about Diyarbakır's gastronomy.