Located 52 kilometres (about 40 minutes) away from Diyarbakır city centre, the town of Eğil consists of an area of 450 square kilometres built on a hill parallel to the Dicle (Tigris) River. Eğil, an ancient city, is a town that hosts a historic castle, many ancient caves, and an Assyrian cylinder seal providing strong evidence that the Assyrians were in the region.
Eğil is a significant faith tourism destination. It is widely believed that there are graves of 9 prophets, including the prophets Zülkifl and Elyesa, whose names appear in the Holy Qur’an. There are also many tombs of companions and saints across the region.
Eğil, which is also one of the most important cultural and tourism centres of Diyarbakır, has hosted a wide variety of civilisations, cultures and beliefs throughout history. Eğil district stands out as the common cultural heritage of the civilisations that existed in this geography and contributed to the region’s distinct texture, including the Assyrians, Urartians, Medes, Persians, Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, and Ottoman Empire.
