Isn’t it kind of barbaric? “Turkey prepares to flood 12,000-year-old city to build dam

The ancient cave-city of Hasankeyf on the Tigris River. Photograph: Alamy
After the half-hour drive from Batman in south-east Turkey, the ancient city of Hasankeyf, which sits on the banks of the Tigris River, appears as an oasis.

Hasankeyf is thought to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth, dating as far back as 12,000 years and containing thousands of caves, churches and tombs. more here

Ancient Turkish town begins to disappear underwater – in pictures

The small town of Hasankeyf, in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority south-east, is doomed to disappear in the coming months after being inhabited for 12,000 years. An artificial lake, part of the Ilısu hydroelectric dam project, will swallow it up. The huge dam, Turkey’s second largest, is being filled further down the Tigris River, despite protests that it will displace thousands of people and risks creating water shortages downstream, namely in Iraq. Residents are being moved from the ancient town to New Hasankeyf nearby, while historic artefacts have also been transported out of the area


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