under destruction

SummaryThe construction of the Ilisu Dam along the Tigris river is 3 years from completion. In 2015 the Dam will be fully operational, drowning vast parts of the Tigris Valley, located in Batman Province, eastern Turkey.

Next to the destruction of nature and historical sites such as Hasankeyf, dating back to 1800 B.C., the predominantly kurdish population is being relocated into the industrial city of Batman.Farmers, fishermen and families that have lived with the rivers natural flow for generations are forced to give up their homes and agricultural lifestyle to make way for the countrys need of power and irrigation. Politically motivated, the dam will cut water supplies to the kurdish parts of Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

Hasankeyf on the Tigris River

Shepard near Hasankeyf (Interviewed)

Landscape along the Tigris

Children playing along the Tigris river

Interviewed persons

The Ilisu Dam construction site (photographed out of the car due to restrictive access)

Towns and hot springs along the tigris river

Sandstorm in Hasankeyf

Batman, Turkey

“New Hasankeyf”