Adıyaman, Southeast Anatolia Region, Türkiye

🇹🇷 Adıyaman is a city in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of the Adıyaman Province. Its inhabitants are mostly Kurdish. The city was one of the worst affected by the February 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes. Many buildings were destroyed and many lives lost in part because bad weather and damage to the transport infrastructure delayed the arrival of rescue teams.

Etymology An unverified theory is that the former name of the city, Hisn-Mansur derives from the name of the Umayyad Emir Mansur ibn Jawana who was killed by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur in this region in 758. Because of the difficulty among the locals in pronouncing Hisn-Mansur, the corruption Semsur emerged. Various unverifiable theories exist for the name.

History The first settlement on the site of thee city was the ancient town of Perrhe, part of the kingdom of Commagene before it became part of the Roman and later Byzantine Empire.

It was then captured by the Arabs and became known as Hisn Mansur. It became a contested border town between the Abbasid caliphate and the Byzantines and was therefore well protected; a wall with three gates and a ditch guarded the town while in its middle stood a fortress with double walls.

In the early eleventh century, the town formed part of the Byzantine defences in the Euphrates region together with Edessa, Gargar, Samosata and Chasanara. In 1066/1067, the region around the town was ravaged by a Turkish emir called Gümüshtekīn who took booty and captives.

By the end of the eleventh century, the Byzantines had lost control of the town and it was now in possession of the Armenian local ruler Kogh Vasil.

Places of interest There is some passing tourist trade, the main tourist attraction being Mount Nemrut. • The caves of Pirin (ancient city of Perre) are 5 km (3 mi). from Adıyaman. These have been used as a burial ground for thousands of years. The sights include the ruins of the city and burial caves carved into the rock. • The only active church in Adıyaman Province is located here, where it is the centre of the Syriac Orthodox patriarchal vicarate of Adıyaman. It was renovated and reopened in 2012.

Neighbourhoods The city has 33 quarters, including Esentepe.