Hevsel Gardens
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Location | Diyarbakır, Diyarbakır Province, Şanlıurfa Subregion, Southeast Anatolia Region, Turkey |
| Part of | Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape |
| Criteria | Cultural: (iv) |
| Reference | 1488 |
| Inscription | 2015 (39th Session) |
| Coordinates | 37°54′27″N 40°14′51″E / 37.90750°N 40.24750°E |
The Hevsel Gardens (Turkish: Hevsel Bahçeleri, Kurdish: Baxçeyên Hewselê), are the seven hundred hectares of cultivated, fertile lands near the Tigris in eastern Turkey, between the Diyarbakır Fortress and the river. The fortified city was enclosed by a two-part system of defensive walls, and the gardens, fed by springs on the steep slope below, played a vital role in keeping the city provisioned and watered. The gardens were added to the UNESCO tentative list in 2013, and they became a World Heritage Site in 2015, along with the walls of Diyarbakır Fortress.