Opinions about the Ilısu Dam project in Hasankeyf remain fiercely divided after more than half a century. The Turkish government claims the long-stalled project will generate hydroelectric power and bring development to an impoverished region. But critics say it will irrevocably destroy a cultural and environmental heritage that dates back more than 10,000 years
 Popular eco-warrior and anti-nuclear activist Osman Abi, a.k.a. the 'Turkish Don Quixote,' at the Batman event. |
Debate over a controversial dam in Southeast Turkey has been raging for more than 50 years, but residents of the ancient and threatened town of Hasankeyf show no signs of giving up the fight.
“In the last four years, more tourists have started coming to Hasankeyf. They like it here and it is nice for us to be able to share our culture,” said Semra Argun, a local woman who, along with her husband and family, runs the only motel in town. “If the dam is constructed we will lose everything – our homes, this history and even the graves of those we have lost will go under the water.”
According to Argun, most of the local population is strongly against the construction of the Ilısu Dam, a project the government has been pushing hard despite international criticism of the plans, which would displace some 50,000 people from the area and wipe out a cultural and environmental heritage that dates back more than 10,000 years.
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