Hasankeyf
Hasankeyf, Batman, Turkey
Description of the Site
Hasankeyf is a Kurdish town in Turkey with a history that dates back over 12,000 years ago. Hasankeyf has an important place in Kurdish history, for it was, for centuries, the last capital of the famous Kurdish Ayyubid Dynasty, best known for having brought forth the leader Saladin.
Hasankeyf is one of Mesopotamia’s earliest human settlements. There are over 300 unexcavated archaeological sites in Hasankeyf, thousands of man-made caves, castles, baths, historic mosques, Roman temples, and so much more. Hasankeyf, along with dozens of historic villages and hundreds of archaeological sites, will soon be flooded by the rising waters of Turkey’s Ilisu Dam. The Ilisu Dam has a life expectancy of 50 years and will meet 1% of Turkey’s energy needs. For this, Turkey will irrecoverably destroy one of the oldest settlements in human history, a city that has housed the greatest civilizations since recorded history.
Hasankeyf meets 9 of UNESCO’s 10 criteria for inclusion. A historic site only needs to meet 1 criteria to become a UNESCO world heritage site. Turkey never submitted Hasankeyf for inclusion.
Not even Rome, the Pyramids of Egypt, and Athens COMBINED meet 9 different criteria. Hasankeyf does, and Hasankeyf is about to disappear from history.
Hasankeyf is now a small hamlet in southeastern Turkey, but for centuries it was a regional hub, home to Romans, Byzantines, the Artukids, Ayyubids and Akkoyunlu, before its absorption into the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century. Remains from all these conquerors can still be found in the city.
The Threat
Construction of Ilisu Dam, a controversial dam with a life expectancy of 50 years.
This dam will not only destroy the town of Hasankeyf, but also dozens of historic Kurdish villages, the ecology of the region (several unique species will go extinct), and it will drain the Iraqi Marshes (recognized UNESCO world heritage). This dam will also reduce waterflow to Iraq and Syria by 40%, potentially causing more sand storms and wars in the near future.
UPDATE
This 20-minute documentary holds invaluable images from the two years before the flooding of the ancient city in early 2020. A History of Water’s Death, by Ali Ergül, in Turkish and Kurdish.
Who Should Be Held Accountable
Turkey
Efforts to Save Hasankeyf
There are barely any efforts. 80% of the site will be destroyed. The Turkish state is “rescuing” some monuments and relocating them (7 out of thousands of monuments), but we, the group nominating this site to the Wall of Shame, do not believe that this a genuine effort towards preserving parts of the site, we see it more as a publicity stunt.
Links Connected to You or Your Group
| Links | |
| http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/ | |
| twitter handle: @HKmatters | |
| facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hasankeyf-Matters-110815625711752/ | |
Source Links
| Websites | |
| http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/ | |
| http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?page_id=2 | |
Photos
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