Last year, I featured photos of the efforts made to move parts of the ancient Turkish town of Hasankeyf to a new location, as a massive dam project was about to cause the Tigris River to rise and flood the area. A year later, the reservoir behind Ilisu Dam has largely filled up, inundating the historic town and surrounding archaeological sites, despite years of protests by residents and activists. Most of Hasankeyf’s residents were relocated to New Hasankeyf, a village made up of government-built housing on the opposite shore, as their old homes were slowly submerged. Now, to encourage tourism, authorities are allowing swimming in the reservoir, and boat tours are being offered. Collected here are images from the past year, as Hasankeyf was slowly engulfed by the rising Tigris River.
An Ancient Town Submerged: Hasankeyf Underwater
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People park along a road that ends in the Ilisu Dam reservoir, close to the newly-constructed New Hasankeyf town, after the ancient town of Hasankeyf and its archaeological sites were flooded in southeastern Turkey on August 3, 2020. #
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty -
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An aerial view of the ancient town of Hasankeyf before its inundation, on October 1, 2019, with visible earthworks and road construction to accommodate relocation efforts. #
Burak Kara / Getty -
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This picture taken on February 23, 2020, shows an aerial view of Hasankeyf, on the banks of the slowly rising Tigris River, with new construction for relocated townspeople across the river, in the background. #
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty -
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This picture taken on August 3, 2020, shows the growing reservoir behind Turkey's Ilisu Dam after it flooded the old town of Hasankeyf, where a few remaining buildings can be seen. #
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty -
A view across the Ilisu Dam reservoir, which separates the newly constructed New Hasankeyf town and the remains of the ancient town in the foreground, taken on August 3, 2020. #
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty -
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An aerial photo taken on August 3, 2020, shows the flooded ruins of the ancient town of Hasankeyf. Compare with photo No. 2 above, taken in the same place 10 months earlier. #
Bulent Kilic / AFP / Getty -
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