Hasankeyf- 12000 years of history soon to be underwater

When I first travelled to Eastern Turkey 4 years ago Hasankeyf was one of the top places I wanted to see….. I wrote about it in a journal as shown below. I urgently needed to see this open air museum because it is one of the oldest ancient sites in the world with evidence of human settlement- going back 12,000 years. Virtually every major Mesopotamian civilisation has been present in Hasankeyf including a Byzantine bishopric to an Arab fortress, a part of the famous Silk road and an outpost in the Ottoman Empire. But all this history is about to be lost. The Turkish Republic has been constructing the Ilisu Dam which will submerge the ancient town beneath 60 metres of water.

My short journal that I wrote 4 years ago...

“On the way to Van we stopped off in the morning to discover the ancient city of Hasankeyf. Similar to Mount Nemrut, this was on my must see list. One of my old customers told me about this place and said how amazing it was and that sadly, not many people know about it or visit it since it’s not in a tourist area.

Spectacularly built around a rocky mountain and the Tigris river, this is a special place in which the architecture of the regions many different rulers is evident. As old as 12,000 years, Hasankeyf has survived over 9 civilisations and is a key part of Kurdish history. In fact mainly Kurdish and Arabs make up the population of what is left of Hasankeyf. Away from the main cave dwellings are houses, ruins and even a small school.

Sadly, Hasankeyf is in turmoil. The government has been debating on a dam project in this region for over 40 years. Sadly, now it looks like it is going ahead. This means that most of this history will be flooded by the dam in around 5 years. If you want to come to Hasankeyf, don’t wait too long.

Our driver was Kurdish and he came along for the visit. He was proud to visit the place that boasts the oldest collection of Kurdish history. I know I said I wouldn’t go into it but….the Kurdish population has suffered discrimination for many years and persecution at the hands of the Turkish authorities, Turkey’s human rights record has been one of the main issues of its entry to the European Union, over the recent years, improvements have been made, you can now listen to Kurdish music and learn Kurdish as a 2nd language without fear of arrest. The worst of the fighting between the army and Kurdish separatists has past but many still view the dam building as a form of ethnic cleansing, the population has been falling steadily in Hasankeyf to well below 5000 from 10000. The guide that worked in Hasankeyf told me that the dam project hung in the open and with so many people opposing it, the authorities may be forced to rethink their strategy.

I had dreamt of visiting Hasankeyf and it was the most special place I was able to visit in Turkey. The people were so friendly and talked openly about their situation. I visited a few of the tourist shops they had and noticed many places had a picture of Ataturk to buy, sadly there was no evidence of Kurdish heroes for people to see. As you enter Hasankeyf you cross the new bridge and you see the ruins of the Old Tigris Bridge, built in 1116 by Artukid Fahrettin Karaaslan, it replaced an older bridge. The bridge over the Tigris River is considered to be the largest from the Medieval Period. There are several mosques in the area along with a citadel that is not in great condition. There are also 2 tombs not far from the river, The Zeynel bel and the Imam Abdullah. The cave dwellings were amazing. With wooden doors still in tact, before the safety issues these caves housed many people throughout history. I recommend each and every one of you to visit this remarkable place before it’s too late.”

What is happening now in 2016?

I wrote about the future of Hasankeyf being in jeopardy due to the ongoing planning of a new Dam that would result in most of this beautiful ancient city being submerged underwater.

After many years of back and forth protests for the dam not to go ahead, the construction of the Itsu Dam is progressively plodding along in the background. The Turkish government has had to put their brakes on their plans many times with international investors pulling out due to the increasing interest from the opposition to preserve this historical site.

Quite recently, Hasankeyf has been selected as one of Europe’s “7 Most Endangered” heritage sites for 2016. The announcement, which noted that Hasankeyf is one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites, was recently announced in Venice by Europa Nostra, Europe’s leading heritage organization, and the European Investment Bank Institute. This is great news for the “Keep Hasankeyf Alive” Initiative that was formed back in 2006 and now has influential members from all around the globe.

The construction of the Dam is near completion and I foresee that completely eradicating the project is out of the question. It has been clear from the start that the Turkish government will overcome all setbacks to reach their goals of finishing this project. They boast about the reservoir bringing tourism to the area as well as watersports and generating electricity for Turkey. What they fail to boast about are the thousands of people that have lived in Hasankeyf for many generations being forced to relocate to the ‘new Hasankeyf’ housing project that is being built – putting financial strain on those that will have increased living expenses as a result of having to purchase a more expensive property that the sale of their previous property does not match. We are also talking about wiping out some of the most important history on our planet.

Currently, Turkey have been pressurised to look into possible ways to salvage some of Hasankeyf’s artefacts which will be displayed in a new location as a museum. This process has already run into problems as some of these artefacts are very large, and built with unusual stones that could destroy them when relocated. The historical Zeynel Bey Tomb has already started its process of relocation since 2015, not an easy plan to achieve.

Please have a look at the photos from my visit 4 years ago. It is heartbreaking to think that a Dam that will probably only have a lifespan of about 30-50 years is taking priority over such an important historical site.