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While tea is being served, in the background the 12,000 year old village of Hasankeyf awaits its submersion under the waters of Ilisu Dam. As of mid August 2019, the dam's floodgates have been closed and the water has started to accumulate in the reservoir some 100 kilometers downstream. It will take some time before the water arrive at Hasankeyf which will result in it being more than 80% submerged. As of early October 2019, the roads to the village will be closed and all residents will have to have left the village.
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The reflection of a child on a school window during the summer break is seen in a village close to Hasankeyf which is located in the flood zone and is slated to be submerged once the dam waters arrive.
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A resident of a village adjacent to Hasankeyf shows off his hunting gun. While the village across the Tigris river from Hasankeyf will not be submerged, the residents believe they will have to move because the settling ground will destabilize the surrounding structures,
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A young girl watches the street from her home in a village near Hasankeyf that is also slated to be submerged once the reservoir behind the Ilisu Dam is filled.
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A restaurant owner in the village of Hasankeyf continues to conduct business as usual while waiting for the flood waters to arrive. As of early October 2019, the Turkish Authorities have announced that the road to Hasankeyf will be closed and no one will be allowed to move in or out of the village.
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A fisherman returns from fishing for his lunch in the Tigris River. The residents of the villages in the flood zones, including Hasankeyf, have lived independently for generations: living off of the land, their cattle, their agriculture and various commercial enterprises.
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Before sunset, cattle are brought home from pasture.
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A puppy watches as a Kurdish farmer uses the wind to separate the grain from the chaff in a village near Hasankeyf. Their village along with Hasankeyf is slated be flooded once the waters arrive as the reservoir behind the Ilisu Dam fills. These residents have lived independently for generations: living off of the land, their cattle, their agriculture and various commercial enterprises.
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Young Kurdish women gather around to look at their photos in a village slated to be submerged under the artificial lake created by the Ilisu Dam. They have now taken a wait-and-see attitude about that which they plan on doing once their village and their home has been flooded.
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The young generation Kurdish population in the area of Hasankeyf and surrounding villages will have a dramatically different life than that of their parents and their grandparents. While these populations have lived a largely independent life: farming their land, raising cattle, fishing and engage in various commerce, the new generation will live in apartment buildings into which they are scheduled to move.
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In one of several villages that face the same fate as Hasankeyf, residents continue to conduct their life as usual while waiting for the flood water to arrive.
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Three generation of Kurdish women in their home in a village near Hasankeyf. The young generation Kurdish population in the area of Hasankeyf and surrounding villages will have a dramatically different life than that of their parents and their grandparents.
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A Kurdish woman waits on her family members in their home in a village near Hasankeyf which is slated to be flooded under the Ilisu Dam's artificial lake.
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© 2021 Nima Taradji Photography
A young boy hangs out of the family car at sunset in a village near Hasankeyf situated in the flood zone.
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© 2021 Nima Taradji Photography
A farmer shows of a cucumber form his garden. Residents across the Tigris River from Hasankeyf wait to be displaced. While their village is not in the flood zone, they expect the flood waters will cause the surrounding structures to be unstable and so they will have to move.
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At sunset, the animals are brought back home to the village after spending the day in the pasture.
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Young children play in the schools's playground during the summer recess. Their village is one close to Hasankeyf and in the flood zone. They will have to move before the flood waters from the Ilisu Dam's artificial lake arrive.
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Two teenage Kurds talk under the minaret of their village sunni mosque. Their village is in the flood zone and will be submerged. The residents will have to move before the waters arrive.
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Young residents of Hasankeyf emerge form their houses once the sun has set and the air has cooled a little. They will have to leave their village once the flood waters from the Ilisu Dam arrive.
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Business owners in Hasankeyf will have to close up shop and move along with the other residents. It is unclear as to what their fate will be in the new area. As of early October 2019, the road to and from Hasankeyf will be closed.
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A family clean their crop of cucumbers together. These Kurdish residents have lived off of their land, cattle and various commerce for generations. It is unclear as to how they will survive when they move into apartments the Turkish Government has built for them.
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Islamic verses from the Koran are written onto cowhide and hang by a home's entrance in a village in the Ilisu Dam's flood zone.
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Before moving into Hasankeyf, the residents lived in caves carved into the surrounding mountains. Some 100 years ago, the residents moved into homes in Hasankeyf. A very few residents still live in these caves.
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A resident of Hasankeyf walks through the peaceful village.
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Early morning in Hasankeyf's market all the shops are closed.
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A young Kurdish girl playfully watches on from the roof of her home. Residents sleep outside on the roof of their homes during the summer when the air is warm and sleeping outside provides a relief from the heat.
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The Turkish Authorities are in the process of encasing ancient artifacts in cement so as to save them for sometime in the future. The encasing into cement is supposed to keep the ancient artifacts safe from the water.
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A father holds onto his young daughter in the village across Hasankeyf. While their village is not going to be submerged, due to destabilizing nature of the flood, they will have to move out of their village along with the residents of Hasankeyf. The future is unclear for these residents. As of early October 2019, the roads to Hasankeyf and surrounding villages will be closed.
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© 2021 Nima Taradji Photography
Hasankeyf will soon be submerged. The old bridge which provides a road in and out of the village will be submerged under the flood waters once the Ilisu Dam's reservoir is filled. The "New Hasankeyf" apartments where the Residents will move can be seen in the distant background. It is unclear how these residents who have independently lived off of their land, cattle and various commerce will cope with the move.
Public Story
Hasankeyf: History Flooded
Credits:
nima taradji photography
Date of Work:
07/23/19 - 07/31/19
Updated: 09/29/19

Hasankeyf is a 12,000-year-old village on the banks of Tigris River in Southeastern Turkey near the Syrian and Iraqi borders. It has survived the Persians, Romans, Ottomans, and the modern era and is one of 80 or so villages that will now be lost due to the now finished Ilisu Dam, a response to Turkey’s growing need for electricity and power. Hasankeyf and the surrounding villages are located in the flood zone which will cause some villages to be completely submerged under the resulting artificial lake waters and others, like Hasankeyf, to be about 80% submerged. Regardless, the Turkish Authorities have warned that as of early October 2019, the road in and out of Hasankeyf will be closed: all residents are expected to have already vacated their homes and left the village to resettle in newly built apartments.
The dam project goes back to the 1950s and has taken decades to complete and finally, as of August 2019, the Ilisu Dam's floodgates were closed and water has started to accumulate in the reservoir forming the artificial lake which will soon arrive in Hasankeyf.
The 6,000-foot-long, 1.2 billion euro behemoth of a dam is poised to generate 3,800-gigawatt hours of electricity annually, according to the Turkish government. Ilisu Dam will flood more than 115 square miles of agricultural valley, submerging Hasankeyf and dozens of villages nearby. The villages and land that fed off the Tigris river for centuries is now its victim. These village communities, including Hasankeyf, have lived an independent insular life for generations: farming, raising cattle and sheep, and establishing their own marketplaces. It is now unclear what the future holds for these Kurdish communities, when they settle into new apartment buildings the Turkish Government built for them to replace their farms, homes and businesses.
For some residents of Hasankeyf and surrounding villages, the rising water is a calamity destroying their ancestral land and way of life, while others it is a godsend. The government-built apartment buildings, a stone's throw from Hasankeyf, are modern with modern amenities. Some villagers are excited for the change, but others are going to miss the homes and village communities in which their parents, grand-parents and ancestors lived and died.
This story is available for download in a pdf file format here.
Illustration: Internet
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