In Southeastern Anatolia, the Euphrates River (Fırat) forms some sort of linguistic boundary: west of the Euphrates is mostly Turkish speaking with a Kurdish-speaking minority while the mother tongue of most of the locals living east of the Euphrates is Kurdish. However, most locals in the region are also bilingual in Turkish, although heavily accented in most cases.
While traveling in southeastern Anatolia, it is important to be conscious of whom you are speaking with. At military checkpoints, Turkish and English will suffice (most Turkish officers speak some English, usually due to previous training in the United States); it is critical not to test your smattering of Kurdish words with the Turkish military. When amongst Kurdish friends, the Kurdish language is appropriate, but be sure not to place your hosts in an uncomfortable situation by speaking in Kurdish while other Turks are present.
Arabic might also be useful as it is the mother tongue of many people living in the western and southern parts of the region, especially in and around Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Hasankeyf, and Siirt. Syriac, also known as Assyrian, a direct descendent of Jesus Christ's mother tongue Aramaic, can also be heard spoken by small communities in and around Mardin and Midyat.
Many Arabic and Farsi expressions have made their way into the local vernacular.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Southeastern Anatolia
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Southeastern Anatolia - updated May 2024
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Southeastern Anatolia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
