HASANKEYF, Turkey (Reuters) – Every day, hundreds of people gather on the banks of the Tigris in southeastern Turkey to watch a 12,000-year-old city disappear before their eyes.
Houses submerged by the rising tiger waters are seen in Hasankeyf, in the province of Batman, in the south-east of Turkey, on February 20, 2020. Photo taken on February 20, 2020. REUTERS / Murad Sezer
The rising water levels of the giant Ilisu dam, further downstream, slowly submerge the town of Hasankeyf and floods an area colonized by man for millennia.
The dam, approved by the Turkish government in 1997 to generate electricity for the region, will uproot nearly 80,000 people in 199 villages and has alarmed authorities in neighboring Iraq, who fear the impact on their water supply. of the Tiger.
After years of setbacks, the dam started filling in July. Water levels in and around Hasankeyf have already increased by approximately 15 meters and continue to increase by approximately 15 centimeters per day.
The dam is a key element of the Turkish project in south-eastern Anatolia, designed to stimulate economic growth in its poorest and least developed area.
Residents have left Hasankeyf, many of them moving to a new town, Yeni Hasankeyf, on a nearby hill that will sit on the shores of a newly created lake after the dam is completely filled.
For now, they can see the stone pillars of an ancient bridge spanning the Tigris, and the concrete arches of its modern equivalent, both slowly subsumed.
Land was stacked at both ends of the modern bridge, which leads to Hasankeyf, to prevent entry into the city. Village guards wait at the end.
Water crept along the city’s banks near the end of the bridge, swallowing a few houses. Road sections of the city are also under water.
Reuters was turned back from another entry to Hasankeyf by police who said that only residents moving their last belongings and people authorized by local authorities could enter.
Once the dam is filled, plans for the area include ferries commuting between the new town and a section of the old town that will stay above the water. Several historic structures, including a massive tomb, an ancient Turkish bath, a historic mosque and its minaret, have already been moved to Yeni Hasankeyf.
The Ilisu dam will generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity, making it the fourth dam in Turkey in terms of energy production.
Below the historic fortress of Hasankeyf, where the Romans, Mongols and Seljuk Turks fought or settled, a canyon that housed hundreds of caves in which people lived and worked was filled with concrete about 50 meters deep.
A waterway was built above the concrete to drain rainwater into the dam. Further above the waterway, the shepherds always take their flocks to the top of steep cliffs.
“BEAUTIFUL DUST CAVES”
The dam is now 20-25% full, according to the Hasankeyf coordination group, and the water will likely rise by about 50 meters in the coming months, reaching just below the top of the fortress and submerging thousands of caves. .
Eyup Agilday, a 27-year-old shepherd, recently moved to the new city. He still visits the old village every day to take care of his sheep, which he left behind because there is no land for agriculture and livestock in the new town.
“When I see Hasankeyf left underwater, I am torn inside. We have memories there but our history is there too. We are talking about 12,000 years, “he said, adding that about five families still came to town to take care of their animals, which they still keep in caves.
Ramazan Sevik, from the neighboring village of Gercus, came with his two children to visit the city before it was submerged.
“We have seen the story here, but our children have not seen these beautiful, dusty caves. They will only see one version with make-up,” said the 45-year-old, sitting in a cafe on the banks of the Tiger which will be submerged in the coming weeks.
“Those who opposed (the project) were accused of being political. Even if you are an environmentalist, a patriot or an animal lover, they labeled you as something else when you said “Stop!” To the project, “he said.
“Now we are watching the story slowly disappear.”
Report by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans and Alexandra Hudson