Hasankeyf, a small town in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, had been inhabited for over 12,000 years. It has seen some of the greatest empires of history including Assyrians, Romans and Seljuks.
AFP
But the nearly 3,000 habitants, who currently live in Hasankeyf will be its last. Because, in just a few months it will vanish, quite literally disappear from the map and from the face of the earth.
AFP
Hasankeyf will soon be flooded by an artificial lake, part of the Ilisu hydroelectric dam project. Residents are yet to come into terms with the fact that their homes will soon vanish without a trace.?
REUTERS
"My grandchildren will not see where I grew up, where I lived. They will ask me, 'Grandpa, where do you come from? Where did you live?' What will I do? Show them the lake?", Ridvan Ayhan, one of its residents asked.
AFP
The Ilisu dam, which will be Turkey's second largest, has been built further downstream the Tigris? and is a central element of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a land development plan to boost the economy of the long-neglected region, through hydroelectric energy and irrigation.
The government claims it is necessary for power generation and irrigation. During the inauguration of the Ilisu construction site in 2006, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, promised the dam would bring "the greatest benefit" to local people.
But residents like Ayhan who are opposed to the project says they are worried about the innumerable historic relics and structures in the town, which they fear will be lost forever.
REUTERS
"There is such history here," says Ayhan, adding, "Every time you dig, you come across something from a different civilisation. Destroying Hasankeyf is to commit a major crime."
Since last August the government have relocated a number of key historic structures and buildings.
One of them is the 610-year-old Eyyubi Mosque, which has been transported in parts to another location.
REUTERS
“Works are continuing for the artifacts not to be damaged due to the [flood] waters. The ancient artifacts will come together in the Hasankeyf Culture Park near the new residential area,” said Hasankeyf Mayor Abdulvahap Kusen.