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Siirt is a city in Southeastern Anatolia that’s off the beaten tourist path. There’s little to see in the city itself but it makes for an interesting stop.
Introduction to Siirt
Siirt, known as S’gherd in Armenian, was a Christian enclave in the region until the Armenian and Assyrian Genocides in 1915. In the early 20th century, it had significant numbers of Armenians, Syriac Orthodox, and Chaldean Catholics living among Kurdish and Arab minorities.
Today, Siirt is a Kurdish majority city with a large Arab minority. It’s famous for pistachios, hand-woven wool blankets, and bıttım soaps. The city attracts very few foreigners and we found the locals to be friendly, hospitable, and curious. During our short visit, we were mostly interested in exploring the culture and learning about the handicrafts.
Getting to Siirt
Siirt Airport (SXZ) is about 15 minutes from the city center. There are flights available from Istanbul International Airport and Ankara (as of September 2024). Otherwise, the city is well connected by bus to other cities in the region.
Getting Around Siirt
We only explored a very small part of the old city and it was all on foot. With a car, however, we were able to go further afield to a section of Botan Valley National Park and the village of Tillo. I can’t speak for public transportation but there were plenty of minibuses running through town.
Where to Eat in Siirt
While walking around the old city, we popped into one friendly place for lunch.
By Çıtır
By Çıtır serves up excellent lahmacun and pide at reasonable prices. It’s located in the old city on the north end of Cumhuriyet Street. They have a friendly and attentive staff who had fun joking around with us.
Grand Mosque of Siirt
We started our exploration of the city at the Grand Mosque of Siirt (Siirt Ulu Camii), which is the only major historic landmark in the city. It was commissioned by the Seljuk ruler of Iraq, Mugīsüddin Mahmûd, and completed in 1129. It was repaired and expanded in 1260 by Al-Mujahid Ishak, who also added a madrasa. The mosque is 3.5 meters below the current ground level and surrounded by a courtyard wall.
The minaret is one of the most interesting features. It’s detached from the mosque and is made of brick. The top half is cylindrical and it rests on a square base. It’s decorated with geometric patterns made with glazed bricks. The minaret was dismantled and rebuilt between 1974 and 1975.
The prayer hall of the mosque consists of three consecutive domed sections flanked by two wings on either side. Mihrabs on the wings were unearthed during restoration. They’ve survived with their decorations intact, consisting of geometric shapes made with glazed tiles.
The original minbar from the Grand Mosque of Siirt was transferred to the Ankara Ethnography Museum in 1933. It’s made of walnut in the kundekarî technique and dated 1214-15. You’ll also find the sarcophagus of Al-Mujahid Ishak inside.
Cumhuriyet Street
After visiting the mosque, we took a walk down the pleasant Cumhuriyet Street (Cumhuriyet Caddesi). It runs through the heart of the old city and is lined with shops and cafés.
Siirt Sabun Evi
Along Cumhuriyet Street, we popped into the Siirt Sabun Evi (Siirt Soap House), which has specialized in making bıttım soaps since 1976. It’s one of the most interesting places we visited.
Bıttım soap has been produced in the region for over 3,000 years. It’s 100% natural and handmade using pistachio extracts. It’s a good moisturizer, rich in antioxidants and vitamin E, and also contains traces of pistachio shells that gently exfoliate the skin. Bıttım soap can be beneficial to anyone suffering from eczema, psoriasis, fungus, acne, and other skin conditions. It also claims to be good for the scalp, adding volume to hair, decreasing dandruff and the rate of hair loss, and balancing moisture and oil levels.
There were at least 100 types of bıttım soap available, with additives such as avocado, argan oil, lemon, donkey milk, honey, rice, peach, aloe vera, almond, and many more. Most soaps are labeled in English, and the owners were very friendly and helpful in pointing out the different benefits of each soap.
Wandering Through the Bazaar
Next, we wandered through a small section of the bazaar in Siirt. This was a great chance to see the locals go about their daily business.
We stopped into a few shops to check out some handicrafts, but most of the goods for sale are daily products and foods. Of course, the most appealing are the fruit and vegetable stalls and the dry goods stores. The most interesting for me was the garlic truck.
Botan Valley National Park
A short drive south of Siirt is Botan Valley National Park (Botan Vadisi Milli Parkı), which is referred to by many as the Grand Canyon of Turkey. It was created on August 15, 2019, and covers 120,000 acres. Activities such as paragliding and rafting are available, and the ruins of monasteries and churches can be found within the park boundaries.
Rasıl Hacar
The only section of the park we were able to visit is the scenic overlook at Rasıl Hacar Hill (Rasıl Hacar Tepesi), which is the closest part to Siirt. Parking is 40₺ (as of June 2024). Other sections of the park charge a per person admission fee.
Rasıl Hacar overlooks a canyon formed by a tributary of the Tigris River. In addition to the scenic overlook, there are shelters with picnic tables, a restaurant, and snack bar. It’s a great place to enjoy the scenery with family and friends.
Walking past the restaurant you’ll find a natural bridge. There’s also a small rock-cut cave system accessible via a path next to the bridge.
