Hasankeyf is located in the Upper Mesopotamia region dominated by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, an area also known as the Fertile Crescent. It has enjoyed the privileges of standing at the crossroads of Near Eastern and Anatolian cultures for centuries.

Throughout history many tribes with different religions settled in Hasankeyf and sculpted and embroidered it like a work of art. They carved thousands of houses, stores, warehouses and churches in rocks. They built palaces, bridges, castles, religious schools and observatories. The apple of the eye of eastern and western tribes, Hasankeyf was home to the Assyrians, Byzantines, Sassanids, Umayyads, Abbasids, Hamdanis, the Artukoğlu, Ayyubids, Seljuks and Ottomans. Today, going past the giant hewn stone door in Hasankeyf and delving into the caves, it is likely that you will run into an errant dog, a chicken or a playing child.

Leaving Hasankeyf and the banks of the Tigris behind and heading toward the Euphrates, the road follows the mud-roofed houses of Gercüş and the graceful stone houses, filigree works and stone-paved, narrow and winding streets of Midyat. Behind Midyat rises Mardin. The urban texture with mosques, churches and sculpted and hewn stones throws you back at least as far as the medieval period. The Dayrulzefaran Church on the outer limits of the city reveals layer after layer of religious ritual evocative of the endless permutations of religion.