We protect the marble-mine heritage of ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia
The mystery of Diyarbakir, where life continued for an uninterrupted 8 thousand years and hosted 33 civilizations, lays in its rich natural resources. The city named after the “copper” mine continues to be the land of mine and marble. Geological formations as Bitlis massive and Arabic platform form a richness in terms of marble potential. Eosin and Myosin limestones in the region bear an important potential since they have not gone through much deformation.
There are tens of marble varieties in Diyarbakir such as Tigre beige, Sahara, Fossillious, Lice beige, Crema Kulp, Sandwave, Orient pink, Amedian beige, Bottocino-elyos, Chemgrey, Hani beige. These marbles are known as “Diyarbakir Marbles” in the international literature. Except marble, Karacadag basalts spreading over 10 square kilometers will take its place in the near future with the name “Diyarbakir Stone”.
Diyarbakir stone (basalt) with its high plate efficiency due to its various physic-mechanical features bears the sought standards in furbished and coated structure sector with its good polishability. Having companies only working with basalt in Diyarbakir provides an important advantage for meeting the demands. Diyarbakir basalts have been used in numerous historical structures as walls, inns, hammams, mosques, churches, and civil architecture. It is used in the squares, sidewalks and curbs of the city thanks to its durableness and climatic features.
As DMD, we will continue to protect and improve our marble, our historical heritage in the urban and settlement areas of the future with technological innovations. Within this scope, it is also necessary to mention the pending problems of our sector. The primary of these, is the security problem in mine search and production. This problem prevents the achievement of determined goals of development and employment in the region. The fact that the Middle east market is closed since 2011 has led to the operating capacities of marble factories in Diyarbakir to decrease down to 20%.
An environment of peace and security should be provided for the solution of the problems. This would relieve the mine sector as for all the other areas. It is important for all public institutions, local actors, TUMMER and our association to work in a more active and coordinated manner. Furthermore, infrastructure works of mining, which has a higher investment cost, should be supported, regional units of MIGEM should be established and permissions should be granted by the local branches of central institutions. A higher interest of the development agencies in mining would also contribute to the sector. On the other hand, a Provincial Mine Monitoring and Assessment (IMID) unit should be established between the mine sector and public institutions.