Ergani (pronounced ar-gha-ni) is one of the major districts of Diyarbakır province in Southeastern Anatolia. Home to a population of around 138,000 people, it is the second largest city of the province after the capital, Diyarbakır.

Understand

Çayönü

Settlements around Ergani date back 8000 years, when the first recorded ancient city in the region, Çayönü, was founded. Upon its founding, the city became pretty important as a trading center, often being mentioned in the maps that were made by the major powers in the region in different time periods, even having its own province under the Ottoman Empire for a brief time period. The city had various important cultural and historical heritage such as the Castle of Ergani. However, those were destroyed before the idea of tourism reached this part of the world. There is still a scattering of preserved or lightly damaged historical heritage, and the ancient city of Çayönü was happily left untouched.

Get in

The easiest way to travel to Ergani is using the buses, which are relatively cheaper than the train. They take around an hour from Diyarbakır and cost around 150 TL as of Aug 2023, or US$6.

Using the train is also possible, and might be a better choice if you are already on the rail network stretching from Ankara to Kurtalan near Siirt, followed by the Kurtalan Express. From Diyarbakır, the train costs 48 TL or US$1.70 (as of Aug 2023). It takes a bit longer than the bus, around 1.5 hours. The station is somewhat outside the centre, so you might need to use local transportation from the station.

The nearest airport is in Diyarbakır.

See

Being home to various important historical heritages, Ergani can be considered as a historically rich region.

• Çayönü: It is an 8000-year-old ancient city. It has various important tools in it, some moved to the Diyarbakir Museum in the city center while some remained.
• Caves of Hilar (Hilar Mağaraları): Being another ancient site in the region, it shared the same fate and lost some of its tools to the museum in the city center.
• Hz.Zülkifl Peygamber Makamı: The name of this place comes from the infamously known Hz.Zülkifl. This place's influence over the city is so major, that the name "Zülküf" gained popularity in the region.
• The Virgin Mary's Church: Previously being a beautiful church renown in the region, the church faced a major process of destruction, just as the Ergani Castle.
• Tomb of the Enus, Adam's Grandson: As mentioned in the name, this place is the tomb of Enus, Adam's grandson.

Do

Visiting the aforementioned locations might be something enjoyable to do. Also, one of the landmarks of the city is a mountain called "Makam Dağı", and it can be visited.

Buy

Accessing to the required products will not be a major concern for you, as the settlement is pretty major.

Eat

Local food is pretty mouthwatering.

• Sweet Pide: Made of cheese and sugar, it is a popular variation of the Turkish pide. It's the most popular local dessert, found in bakeries downtown. It's also available in neighbouring Elazığ.
• Kavurma is braised meat, often accompanied by rice (pilav) and various types of soups.
• Pivazok: This is a dish made of onions and meat.
• Qeli-Keli is a local specialty. It is made of fatty meat slowly cooked over a woodburning stove (sac).

Other local food include Taş Ekmeği, Meftune, Pestil, Grape Molasses, Helva, Kesme, Sıncok, raisins, Kenger, Tört, Akbaldır, Ebeğömeci, Şelmök, Soup of Kara-Göz, Patile, Çortan, and Tomast.

Drink

Ergani is special for its wines called "Boğazkere". Once being a major exporter of this type of wine, Ergani slowly lost its renown status of the winemaking center in the region. With the damages made on the culture in the last 50 years, the production rates got to the all time lowest. This type of wine is made of a special type of grape called "Boğazkere" (Just as the wine) and can still be bought in the city centers of Diyarbakir, Elazig, and also parts of Ergani.

Also, the drink "Ayran" is pretty popular, just as in rest of Turkey.

Sleep

Accommodation is not a major issue in Ergani; the local hotels have online presence. Some of them are far away in the outskirts, though, and day tripping from Diyarbakır is always an option.

Go next

• Diyarbakir: Diyarbakir is the next train stop after Ergani. It is home to 1,148,000 people in its city center, hosts the second largest walls and largest city walls in the world, and offers its visitors unique cultural experiences.
• Elazig: Elazig is the train stop before Ergani and the province with the world's youngest waterfall. Elazig is a major settlement with 500,000 people in its city center, and has tons to explore.
• Malatya: Known for its tasty peaches, Malatya serves as the gate to the Central Anatolian region. It has approximately 650,000 people in its city center, and hosts the old city of Battalgazi.
• Kayseri: Home to over 1 million people in its city center, Kayseri is the easternmost city of the Central Anatolian Region. Despite being far away from Ergani, visiting it is pretty straightforward as the train directly goes towards that direction.
• Batman: Further east from Diyarbakir is Batman, the hub for visiting the ancient city of Hasankeyf. Having 550,000 people in its city center, Batman has been growing due to the developments in oil industry.
• Mardin: Mardin is one of the best cities in the Southeast due to its Syrian fusion culture, relatively high development, large array of places to visit, and majestic views from its old city center.
• Egil: Egil is one of the districts in Diyarbakir. It is home to a considerable number of prophets' tombs, and borders the Tigris River. Restourants on the riverbanks are popular for their fish dishes.
• Cermik: Cermik is another district of Diyarbakir. It is known for its bathhouses.

Most of the mentioned places are accessed via the Kurtalan Express and the Expresses before it. The train routes are a special experience.