Hevsel Gardens in Diyarbakir

Archeology - Measure - Innovation - Development - Anatolia (AMIDA)

The ancient city of Amida (nowadays, Diyarbakir) and Hevsel Gardens have been classified as a World Heritage and Cultural Landscape by UNESCO since 2015. Local know-how and traditional practices need to be analyzed and shared in order to contribute to sustainable alternatives such as agro-ecology or short supply chain organization.

Objectives

Contribute to the protection of the tangible and intangible, natural and cultural heritage of Diyarbakir and Hevsel Gardens:

• Identify the cultural practices and analyse how knowledge is being shared and transferred in Hevsel Gardens.
• Explore the interactions between human activities and environment to better understand the types of practices (harvesting, irrigation, etc.) and the way to contribute to sustainable environment.

Activities

• Research work : surveys, data bases and interpretations
• Territorial diagnostics and analysis of practices and know-how through qualitative surveys
• Multidisciplinary studies about Hevsel Gardens, cultural landscape located in Diarbakyr on the banks of the Tigris river

Results and impacts

• Creation of a Geographic Information System (GIS) dedicated to the Walls of Diyarbakir, the Hevsel Gardens and the Tigris River
• Collection of oral and written literature
• Trainings and awareness-raising among students to highlight the singularities of cultural heritage
• Economic benefits for local tourism (creation of a GIS and support in managing the UNESCO process)
• Participation in research programs on the Tigris Valley (collaborating in projects coordinated by the universities of Batman, Diyarbakir and Izmir)

Main publications

Sabri KARADOĞAN, "Geographical landscape and evidence of civilization in the valley of the Tigris River and its tributaries Batman to Botan » in Workshop International  « AMIDA 2016 LES JARDINS DE L’HEVSEL : le Tigre, l’eau et la ville, et quelques éléments pour la sauvegarde du site urbain (Prof. Dr., Dicle Üniversitesi Coğrafya Bölümü), Nov. 2016, Montpellier.

Martine ASSENAT, “La trame urbaine et son histoire “ » in Workshop International  « AMIDA 2016 LES JARDINS DE L’HEVSEL : le Tigre, l’eau et la ville, et quelques éléments pour la sauvegarde du site urbain (MCF département d’Histoire et d’Archéologie, Montpellier 3 CRISES, IFEA), Nov. 2016, Montpellier..

Martine ASSENAT (dir.). L'Hevsel à Amida-Diyarbakır :études et réhabilitation de jardins mésopotamiens. Istanbul : Institut français d’études anatoliennes. (Patrimoines au présent, n. 6). (2015). 

Coordinator

Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3– CRISES (Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaire en Sciences Humaines et Sociales) - France

Mots-clés : Archéologie-Mesure-Innovation- Développement-Anatolie

More information

Source of funding: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Sud (MSH Sud)

Contacts :

• Martine Assénat, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, France, Coordination du Projet, martineassenat@gmail.com
• Hélène Ilbert, CIHEAM-IAMM, UMR MOISA, France, Responsable analyses institutions, ilbert@iamm.fr
• Jean François Pérouse, IFEA, Turquie, Responsable coordination en Turquie, jeanfrancoisperouse@gmail.com

Partners :

• CIHEAM - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM) - France
• Institut Français des Etudes Anatoliennes à Istanbul (IFEA) - Turquie
• Université Montpellier 3, LERSEM, (Laboratoire d'Études et de Recherches en Sociologie et en Ethnologie de Montpellier) - France