March 21, 2008 1:37 pm

In pictures: Damming the Tigris

By Micah Garen and Marie-Helene Carleton

Damming the Tigris will give Turkey renewable energy - and flood 200 villages and archaeological sites in the Kurdish heartland.

IN Visual Journalism

Watch the accompanying documentary videos and read the FT Magazine article .

Hasankeyf, an ancient town in south-east Turkey, has become a flashpoint in a battle of energy versus conservation. The town and its thousands of years of history will be submerged when the construction of a dam 80km downstream at the Tigris river is complete.
The ancient town of Hasankeyf with the remains of the 7th century Aturqid bridge spanning the Trigris river. The town as well as the bridge will be flooded by the Ilisu dam. There are plans, but not yet the funding, to move the remains of the bridge to higher ground.
Abdulvahap Kusen, mayor of Hasankeyf, says the dam project, which was first proposed 50 years ago, has contributed to the impoverishment of the region.
The previous muhktar, or head of the village, from Kesme Kopru III along the Tigris near Hasankeyf, leads his flock of sheep from the river. His livelihood will be endangered by the dam.
The village of Kesme Korpu III, just across the Tigris river from Hasankeyf, will be completely flooded when the Ilisu dam is finished.
A Kurdish family from Kesme Kopru III. Their home and land will be flooded by the dam. Hayrettin Tapkan (left) spent nine years in prison and was recently released. He believes that the Turkish government is building the dam to combat Kurdish rebels in the area.
A graveyard at the village of Kesme Kopru III. It will be flooded by the dam, and some villagers are planning to move graves to higher ground.
Ahmed Akdeniz of Hasankeyf, who refers to himself as Choban Ahmed, or shepherd Ahmed, supports the Ilisu dam because he says it is the only plan that exists to develop the region. Here he holds a map of the proposed new town of Hasankeyf, as he stands in the cave where he grew up.
The tomb of Zeynel Bey sits on the valley floor next to Hasankeyf. It is one of the monuments slated to be moved by the consortium.
The ruins of the Aturqid bridge over the Tigris River. Like the tomb of Zeynel Bey, it will be moved by the consortium before the dam is complete.
Berivan Cetin, 16, from Suceken, a village near Hasankeyf, which will be flooded. With her family, Berivan raises sheep and cows in the caves along the Tigris River.
Recep Kizilcik, Governor of Batman Province, is one of the proponents of the dam.
Women from Ilisu bake bread in traditional, communal ovens. Expropriation of villagers' land and construction of the security compound for the dam has already started.
Children play at the village of New Belkis, which was built after the old village, along the Euphrates river, was flooded by the Birecik dam in 2000. Most villagers did not move to the New Belkis because of a lack of jobs.
Turkay Ozgur, Regional Director of DSI (State Hydrolic Works), the state institution in charge of building the Ilisu dam.
A digger begins to work on the security compound for the dam near Ilisu. While construction has yet to begin at the dam, the Turkish government has begun security preparations for the site.
The abandoned village of Savasankoyu north of Halfeti along the Euphrates, now a lake after the construction of the Birecik dam in 2000. The village attracts visitors who travel by boat to see the minaret of the flooded mosque that rises out of the water.

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