The jewel in the crown of archaeological sites in south-eastern Anatolia is about to be lost forever under 300 square kilometres of water. Both the past and the present will be devastated, as undocumented ancient sites are flooded and thousands of ethnic Kurds evicted. At the heart of the Ilisu dam project is the flooding of Hasankeyf, a centre for Kurdish culture. It is the largest town which would be destroyed by the dam. Today it is home to over five thousand people.
Some families still live in the man-made cave dwellings in the cliffs and hills around the town.
But the key to Hasankeyf lies in its past. Remains date back 10,000 years. Here, in Upper Mesopotamia, the world of the Middle East met the civilisation of Anatolia, and brought about a flourishing of cultures that survive today in countless ruins and monuments. The ancient city was occupied by nine major civilisations, stretching from the Assyrians through to the Ottomans. Each period has left its own unique mark upon the city.