A promise «I will take you to Diyarbakır» may sound like a threat. Today Diyarbakır is one of the most popular resorts with many historical and cultural attractions. However, it is also the city where one of the scariest prisons are located.

Diyarbakır is an amazing Turkish resort city that keeps up with time and gets developed: new skyscrapers and business centers appear there. At the same time, it keeps and carefully preserves its traditions and history, even though it has some tragic events.

After the time when the city became a part of the Ottoman Empire, it was called a «place of death and horror» and «the hell of Diyarbakır». Turkish people decided to turn the castle into a prison. They changed the functions of the strong impregnable walls, which saved the city from the outer world. From that time on, they started to save the outer world from those who were inside. However, no one was a real threat to the city, since most of the prisoners were not criminals.

After a political coup and a change of power at the end of the 20th century, the situation got worse. Those who did not please the government were quickly thrown into prison. Men and women were cruelly tortured and humiliated during and after interrogations. Among the prisoners, there also were children who had to serve a life sentence.

To minimize the possibility of an escape and to deprive people of private space, prisoners were chained up in twos or tens by not only hands and feet but also necks. The conditions in prison were unbearable. Prisoners were forced to undress and walk around naked. If they disobeyed, they were mercilessly beaten. There were cases when jailers simply killed prisoners.

This is not the most pleasant place but is one of the most popular attractions in the city. You still cannot visit prison cells and its inner part. Even though there is a new prison in the suburbs of the city, there are still people in the old building. You can only view one of the most terrifying places in the world from the city walls.