The corner where three borders meet
Şırnak province is the south-eastern corner of Türkiye, where the country meets Iraq and Syria. It is Kurdish country, all mountains and valleys running down to the Tigris, and it is not on any tour circuit: you come here out of curiosity, you take your time, and you travel with a guide who knows the area. What you find is Mesopotamia with nothing staged for visitors.
What to see
Cizre and the Tigris
The province's main town sits on the banks of the Tigris, which by this point is a wide, slow river just about to flow into Iraq. In town you can see the 12th-century Great Mosque, the castle of the emirs of Cizre and the bazaar. The mosque's most famous treasure, a bronze door knocker of two dragons around a lion's head, is a masterpiece of Islamic art; the original is now in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul.
The tomb of Noah
In local Islamic tradition the Ark came to rest on Mount Cudi, not on Mount Ararat, and Noah is buried in Cizre, in a mausoleum beside the mosque that bears his name. Nearby are the tombs of other prophets and scholars: for centuries Cizre was a centre of religious learning.
Mount Cudi
A mountain of just over 2,000 metres with a shrine at the top that pilgrims climb up to. From the summit the plains of Mesopotamia stretch all the way to the horizon. Access has not always been open, so it is worth checking before you go.
The bridge of Cizre
A few kilometres downstream from the town, right on the border, stand the remains of a 12th-century bridge over the Tigris. What is left of its piers still carries several relief panels of the signs of the zodiac. Because it lies in a border zone, whether you can get close depends on the conditions at the time.
When to go
April and May, or October and November. June and September are already hot, and summer temperatures in the Tigris valley can climb above 45 °C.
How to get there
Şırnak Airport has flights from Istanbul and Ankara. By road, Cizre is about 2.5–3 hours from Mardin and 3–4 hours from Hakkari. A local guide is essential here: this is a border area, and access to some sites can change.
What to eat
Kurdish home cooking: perde pilavı (rice and chicken baked inside a pastry crust), kaburga dolması (stuffed lamb ribs), cheeses flavoured with wild herbs and bread from the tandır oven.
How to fit it in
A one-day stop between Mardin and Hakkari, if you want to travel the whole length of Türkiye's southern border. It is only for travellers with time to spare and a wish to see what almost nobody else sees.