tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53057224244039819512024-03-08T22:45:10.920+03:00Hasankeyf MattersHasankeyf: past, present, futureThe Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-46243971762656136682020-09-01T10:00:00.035+03:002020-09-05T13:40:15.326+03:00Urgent call to resolve mounting problems in Hasankeyf <p style="text-align: left;"><i>Statement by Hasankeyf Matters and the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">In years past, the ancient city of Hasankeyf attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, offering them the chance to explore the traces of more than 20 civilizations that contributed to the city’s cultural heritage. With a history spanning 12,000 years, Hasankeyf held a special appeal to visitors from the surrounding region as well as to those from western Turkey, and every corner of the globe. These visitors enabled local residents to provide for their families while also sharing their specialized knowledge of this historic landscape. </p><p>Today, with the completion of the Ilısu Dam and the creation of a huge reservoir covering the old town, conditions in Hasankeyf have deteriorated severely: Local residents face both an immediate crisis of unemployment, and very likely significantly diminished income for years to come. As for the city’s unparalleled cultural heritage, vast tracts of land – holding archaeological and architectural remains of inestimable value – lie unprotected beneath the reservoir. After only a few months of submersion, it is possible to observe significant deterioration in the condition of Hasankeyf’s cultural heritage. </p><p>In recent weeks, for example, it appears that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=110815625711752&set=a.2977817305678222" target="_blank">erosion has uncovered</a> what may be human remains near the cave church at the base of Ra’s Kayım, a site at the eastern edge of Hasankeyf’s lower city that figures in local oral historical accounts of the massacres of 1915.<super>*</super> Despite the presence of ample immovable cultural heritage attesting to the significant role that Christians played in Hasankeyf’s history for nearly 2000 years, the city’s Christian element is <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html" target="_blank">almost entirely excluded</a> from the Government of Turkey’s cultural heritage conservation program. (This program comprises mainly the Hasankeyf Museum and the adjacent archaeological park.) </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdwElNcumkqzMGZcNDJnUbTWWbSz0VbWMgWiNz7w-kP15MCHrPMW7W-BIKED135wYcT1TxjpbPQyHHzDr7xb1er7xlhyxtJ6nf5sfoJFyV-g7J1hCZP788z0ebH2gpT5ojxTMaadaeaAJ/s4608/IMG_1644_20200112_Magara+kilisesi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Cave church of Ra's Kayım, at the eastern edge of Hasankeyf, Jan 2020" border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdwElNcumkqzMGZcNDJnUbTWWbSz0VbWMgWiNz7w-kP15MCHrPMW7W-BIKED135wYcT1TxjpbPQyHHzDr7xb1er7xlhyxtJ6nf5sfoJFyV-g7J1hCZP788z0ebH2gpT5ojxTMaadaeaAJ/w400-h300/IMG_1644_20200112_Magara+kilisesi.JPG" title="Cave church of Ra's Kayım, at the eastern edge of Hasankeyf, Jan 2020" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7rvgetk92dzcg5RIgWgw0LVZXOhhMafpqCRdqsbOYmMaSE1bxcKs-fer1rxuW_eVbX3IeJAflfIANGa2Q0aXEepqvbzNjxklck0p3PK8c1cNaq29RU0cmyRnWRr2mIRYzaQ_-XQH9ci1/s1600/IMG-20200826_near+cave+church+of+Ra%2527s+Kayim-WA0015.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bones revealed as water receded, near cave church of Ra's Kayım, August 2020" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7rvgetk92dzcg5RIgWgw0LVZXOhhMafpqCRdqsbOYmMaSE1bxcKs-fer1rxuW_eVbX3IeJAflfIANGa2Q0aXEepqvbzNjxklck0p3PK8c1cNaq29RU0cmyRnWRr2mIRYzaQ_-XQH9ci1/w400-h225/IMG-20200826_near+cave+church+of+Ra%2527s+Kayim-WA0015.jpg" title="Bones revealed as water receded, near cave church of Ra's Kayım, August 2020" width="400" /></a></div><p>The remains of villas, madrasahs and cemeteries in Hasankeyf’s Salihiyye Gardens are also showing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=110815625711752&set=a.2977817305678222" target="_blank">signs of rapid deterioration</a>. These remains constitute the best-preserved examples of the medieval garden districts typical of Seljuk cities across Anatolia and Persia. Unfortunately, this treasure of Islamic civilization will be lost forever unless urgent action is taken to save it. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FTMCVn4cVbkpYnqSSIGtYwN8WkY93BvvF9aCB8veAP_veShgADb933RX-ltFdiivLiPmCIeKYxisOB_vcbNjRPMdKEuRKANKFQht41GHGjclwO9ObcpdIxbYnvxvs0HUyyYfjiXWliYC/s1600/IMG-20200815-WA0004_Salihiyye+gardens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FTMCVn4cVbkpYnqSSIGtYwN8WkY93BvvF9aCB8veAP_veShgADb933RX-ltFdiivLiPmCIeKYxisOB_vcbNjRPMdKEuRKANKFQht41GHGjclwO9ObcpdIxbYnvxvs0HUyyYfjiXWliYC/w400-h225/IMG-20200815-WA0004_Salihiyye+gardens.jpg" title="Architectural remains in the Salihiyye gardens, August 2020" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuwc5K5s8Vj3YN102vJsgZzi20AcKC-SOgbWpyhTodWaQ18-CnQAc6d8Y4AXT6c-J4wnw_IUXgrZRAT8NF-a_7GvWju7qzJe8r-GdGo02Yvy0wkM9rqEMODWWIj135XAbVIVIrzUiamgE/s2048/DSC_0080_20140412_Kasimiyya_Eyvan.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwuwc5K5s8Vj3YN102vJsgZzi20AcKC-SOgbWpyhTodWaQ18-CnQAc6d8Y4AXT6c-J4wnw_IUXgrZRAT8NF-a_7GvWju7qzJe8r-GdGo02Yvy0wkM9rqEMODWWIj135XAbVIVIrzUiamgE/w400-h266/DSC_0080_20140412_Kasimiyya_Eyvan.JPG" title="The same remains in April 2014" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The seepage of water through the rock-and-concrete barrier surrounding Hasankeyf’s Citadel is also a matter of the utmost concern. In late spring, this seepage led to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=110815625711752&set=a.2904923986300888" target="_blank">flooding of the historic monument</a> known as the Küçük Saray (Small Palace) at the northeast corner of the Citadel, raising concern that water may also be seeping into the solid limestone mount upon which the Citadel itself is built. The leaking barrier was built at great expense and has severely marred the appearance of the Citadel. Its failure, placing parts of the Citadel at risk of collapse – just as critics of the Ilısu Dam project had feared – is unacceptable. So too is the long closure of the new Hasankeyf Museum due to significant leaks in its roof.
The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=110815625711752&set=a.2997266103733342" target="_blank">dismantling</a> of Hasankeyf’s tourism-based economy is also unacceptable. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAH7mWWLnxRCkkHMzkh8sKb5u9wIH0-xrDa9iuchXLqkg5oNNPIjYADd8RfQQIege3hEH0n5lBpBnEWQr7krSRtMf4cSM-nY6aAlzTRLNDQ_-dsHj_XP0tXlCthOyNPAeUaqU1tjMYJLA/s1600/IMG-20200602-WA0009_Lesser+pavillion.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAH7mWWLnxRCkkHMzkh8sKb5u9wIH0-xrDa9iuchXLqkg5oNNPIjYADd8RfQQIege3hEH0n5lBpBnEWQr7krSRtMf4cSM-nY6aAlzTRLNDQ_-dsHj_XP0tXlCthOyNPAeUaqU1tjMYJLA/w300-h400/IMG-20200602-WA0009_Lesser+pavillion.jpg" title="Water partially flooded the "Small Palace" of the Citadel, June 2020" width="300" /></a></div><br />The government has never released a substantive and convincing plan for transforming Hasankeyf, post-Ilısu, into a world-class tourist destination. And the evidence is mounting day-by-day that Hasankeyf and its residents will struggle for a long time simply to regain the level of commercial activity enjoyed before the destruction of the historic city.<p>In light of the deteriorating physical and economic conditions described above, we demand that the Government of Turkey take immediate and urgent steps to halt the damage to, and destruction of, the cultural heritage of Hasankeyf and surrounding areas. <i><b>There are many ways to generate electricity, but the only way to achieve sustainable and diversified growth in Hasankeyf is by allowing the Tigris River to flow freely and restore the equilibrium of the natural ecosystem</b></i>. </p><p>Specifically, we call on the Government to: <br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Establish an independent, interdisciplinary commission of engineers, architects, cultural heritage conservation professionals, and other experts to evaluate – and report to the public about – the situation at Hasankeyf, including the ongoing threats to the Small Palace and Citadel, as well as progress on repairing/reopening the Hasankeyf Museum. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Establish an independent, interdisciplinary commission, including sociologists, engineers, architects, and housing and urban-planning experts, to ensure that problems in the new settlement area of Hasankeyf are resolved promptly. These include problems with the new housing units, drinking water, and poor drainage during heavy rains.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Ensure that all residents forcibly displaced during the implementation of the Ilısu Dam project are provided with access to adequate affordable housing as close as possible to the location of their original homes, regardless of gender, family status, wealth, employment status, or property ownership. All affected people must be compensated according to international law. </li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Drain the Ilısu Dam reservoir, let the river run free, allow the natural ecosystem to regain its balance, and continue the excavation, documentation, and conservation of the invaluable archaeological and architectural treasure hidden in the soil of Hasankeyf and the surrounding area.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Document the intangible cultural heritage of the local residents of Hasankeyf and the nearly 200 villages within the flooded area.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Develop systematic mechanisms to include a broad cross-section of stakeholders in a rigorous, consensus-based program to design, implement, and manage a plan for environmentally and socially sustainable development in Hasankeyf and the Upper Tigris basin. Such a plan must preserve the beauty and value of the natural ecosystem for the social, cultural, scientific, and economic benefit of future generations. </li></ul><p></p><p>While the Ilısu hydroelectric power plant is designed to produce approximately 4000 GWh of electricity each year (roughly one percent of Turkey’s total annual electricity consumption), there is little question that the cumulative potential cultural, social, educational, and economic benefits to be derived from protecting the cultural heritage of this historic landscape far exceed the anticipated economic impact of the dam project. </p><p>Hasankeyf is one the world’s most valuable archaeological sites. If the reservoir is drained and the natural ecosystem restored, the majestic landscape of Hasankeyf and the Upper Tigris basin could become the anchor for a regional tourism industry based on nature and culture that is both environmentally sustainable and economically profitable. </p><p><b>For more information:</b> </p><p><a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com" target="_blank">www.hasankeyfmatters.com</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net </a></p><p><b>Notes</b>: </p><p><super>*</super> <i>See “Sayfo” in </i>Andreas Fink, Der arabische Dialekt von Hasankeyf am Tigris (Osttürkei)<i>, Wiesbaden 2017, pp. 18-20.</i></p>Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-72437798580898413012020-03-24T11:38:00.001+03:002020-03-24T16:20:21.492+03:00Open letter to the Government of Turkey, the suppliers to the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant Project, and the Members of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>Excavation, documentation and conservation of </b><br />
<b>cultural heritage in Hasankeyf must continue</b><br />
<br />
24 March 2020<br />
<br />
The newly opened Hasankeyf Museum – constructed to preserve some of the artifacts salvaged from Hasankeyf and the region before flooding by Turkey’s controversial Ilısu Hydroelectric Dam – presents a sweeping narrative of the region’s history. The exhibit begins with the geological formation of the Upper Tigris basin, continues through the appearance of organized human settlements in the Neolithic period, and culminates in the city’s flourishing under the Artukids, Ayyubids, and Akkoyunlus in the 12th-15th centuries CE.<br />
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The museum collection is impressive not only in its historical scope, but also for the beauty of individual pieces, including rare examples of Neolithic pottery, early Islamic gravestones, and stucco reliefs in the style of the Great Seljuks. Despite its remarkable assets, however, the museum cannot disguise the fact that it is a by-product of the multi-billion-euro Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant project, which has brought about the destruction of natural and cultural heritage of inestimable value, denying the affected peoples their right to access their cultural heritage (guaranteed by <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx" target="_blank">Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights</a> [ICESCR]) and to be consulted systematically in projects involving the alteration of historic buildings (as enshrined in the Granada Convention, Article 14, and Turkish Approval Law <a href="https://teftis.ktb.gov.tr/TR-14268/avrupa-mimari-mirasinin-korunmasi-sozlesmesi.html" target="_blank">No 3534</a><sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*</span></sup>).<br />
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The museum, together with the reinforced Citadel Mount and the archaeological park (where seven <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/search/label/Zeynel%20Bey%20Tomb" target="_blank">monuments removed from the lower city</a> now stand), constitutes the government’s program to preserve the ancient city’s cultural heritage. Despite its lofty ambitions, this conservation program is deeply flawed on several counts. Two of its most egregious failings are: 1) insufficient coverage of the early Islamic period and 2) the total exclusion of the long-enduring Christian element.<br />
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The museum’s coverage of the early Islamic period is limited to a small number of coins and two stones engraved with an early style of Arabic calligraphy. Executed with angular letters in one example, rounded in the other, these inscriptions are two of the most intriguing and important objects in the museum, particularly as stone inscriptions from the early Islamic period are few in number. The discovery of these stones suggests that further archaeological excavation in the lower city of Hasankeyf may well yield new information about the development of Islamic civilization in Upper Mesopotamia in the 7th-9th centuries – a period of history only partially illuminated by textual sources.<br />
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Regarding the museum’s coverage of Hasankeyf’s Christian legacy, the display of Christian artifacts consists of five crosses from the Byzantine period, and a visitor would be forgiven for leaving the museum with the idea that the city’s Christian history ended with the Islamic conquest in 640 CE. <br />
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This gap in the historical narrative advanced in the Hasankeyf Museum is unconscionable, as there is <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html" target="_blank">ample evidence</a> showing that Christians and Christianity played a significant role in the city’s cultural and economic life for more than 1300 years following the advent of Islam.<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">**</span></sup> In the 10th century, for example, Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi notes the city’s numerous churches,<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">***</span></sup> while Ottoman records from the late 16th century indicate that of 1700 households in Hasankeyf, nearly 60 percent were Christian.<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">****</span></sup> There is also significant immovable cultural heritage remaining in Hasankeyf today that attests to the historical Christian presence, including cave churches on either side of the lower city. Stone masonry structures include the Tareke Church<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^</span></sup> at the heart of the lower city (near the original site of the Rizk Mosque), Deiriki Church (also known as the Church of the Forty Martyrs<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^^</span></sup>) below the southeastern corner of the Citadel, and the Monastery of Mor Aho, which was endowed by residents of the villages of Atafiye and Difne/Üçyol in the 16th century.<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^^^</span></sup>,<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^*</span></sup><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaWBfEX7IbcT8UxTWx8iNol5_YEG5mPf20ierP17v1PUD1Ug3nGrOikKRqfZsKI7PwLkAczgUn5zJzUXTBPRgyNn50wtQpq5O78nf-shZXnVxIYmmhyphenhyphenVtxUu63ZFSgo_O_lnuVxI1e-KX/s1600/DSC_0158_20160726_Tareke+Kilisesi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaWBfEX7IbcT8UxTWx8iNol5_YEG5mPf20ierP17v1PUD1Ug3nGrOikKRqfZsKI7PwLkAczgUn5zJzUXTBPRgyNn50wtQpq5O78nf-shZXnVxIYmmhyphenhyphenVtxUu63ZFSgo_O_lnuVxI1e-KX/s320/DSC_0158_20160726_Tareke+Kilisesi.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tareke Church, Kale Neighborhood, Hasankeyf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwoGNv27jePV7LVdZp_YWencq3GxkqJKfY7hjdkunD75zOW75YGIXI_LlcuU5SOjGH-1I_cbYXtn3lm_9UiDpVli8hiVqD_Gt9MkGd1fpYEemcKoKC0aWIrFPvPuQQw0SiXtqXsVYMGAg/s1600/IMG_1236_20200106_Saha-Ermeni+Kilisesi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwoGNv27jePV7LVdZp_YWencq3GxkqJKfY7hjdkunD75zOW75YGIXI_LlcuU5SOjGH-1I_cbYXtn3lm_9UiDpVli8hiVqD_Gt9MkGd1fpYEemcKoKC0aWIrFPvPuQQw0SiXtqXsVYMGAg/s320/IMG_1236_20200106_Saha-Ermeni+Kilisesi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saha Church, Hasankeyf</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It is a dereliction of Turkey’s duty as owner of the historic city of Hasankeyf to leave the immovable cultural heritage of the city’s erstwhile Christian community undocumented and unprotected. Today, Hasankeyf residents continue to value the Christian dimension of their cultural heritage, recounting their experiences working side-by-side with Christian neighbors as they began their careers as tailors, weavers, or traders. Many note that just a few generations back their families had been Christian. And residents often share their knowledge about Hasankeyf’s Christian districts, churches and monasteries.<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^**</span></sup> <br />
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The total erasure of the Christian legacy from the Hasankeyf landscape, whether due to neglect or otherwise, would constitute a severe and reprehensible violation of the universal human right to participate in the cultural life of the community, including access to cultural heritage. Urgent action is required to ensure that these monuments are not lost due to their express exclusion from the government’s cultural heritage conservation program for Hasankeyf. The <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17718&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html" target="_blank">2003 UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage</a> affirms that “cultural heritage is an important component of the cultural identity of communities, groups and individuals, and of social cohesion, so that its intentional destruction may have adverse consequences on human dignity or human rights.” There is no justification for the near-total exclusion of Christianity from the museum and the adjacent collection of monuments transferred from the ancient city.<br />
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To remedy this situation, the Turkish government must, at a minimum, halt the filling of the Ilısu Reservoir (by opening the flood gates to allow a controlled flow of water) and continue archaeological excavations in order to document and preserve important aspects of Hasankeyf’s cultural heritage, focusing in particular on the early Islamic period, the enduring Christian element, and the evolution of Muslim-Christian interactions from the 7th to 20th centuries. The continuation of archaeological excavation and conservation work would also create employment opportunities for local residents who face an extended period of economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, in particular, its negative impact on the tourism sector. <br />
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We also demand that all strategic partners in the Ilısu Dam project supply chain, especially the companies Andritz, Nurol, Cengizler, Er-Bu and Bresser, and the banks GarantiBBVA and Akbank, use their leverage to avert the total elimination of Hasankeyf’s Christian legacy.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, UNESCO’s silence on the Hasankeyf controversy is unacceptable. Although Hasankeyf very likely meets <a href="https://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Outstanding-universal-value-of-hasankeyf-and-the-tigris-valley.pdf" target="_blank">9 of 10 criteria</a> for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">^***</span></sup>, the provision that only States Parties can nominate a site has kept it from being recognized for protection, despite years of pleas from civil society, municipalities and scientists. The Ilısu Dam project has progressed in an atmosphere of intermittent armed conflict and ongoing repression of civil rights, where affected peoples and diverse stakeholders have been repeatedly and strongly discouraged from expressing their views. Therefore, the flooding of Hasankeyf and the Upper Tigris basin is a violation of the basic human right to participate in the cultural life of the community, which is affirmed by the ICESCR (Article 15), as well as a violation of the Granada Convention (CETS 121, Article 14), which requires systematic and sustained consultation with the public regarding the alternation of historic buildings. <br />
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We call upon the Members of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee to urgently create mechanisms affording diverse stakeholders (including affected peoples, civil society organizations, scholars, and others) to make their concerns known and to play a substantive role in identifying candidate sites for World Heritage listing and monitoring/managing listed sites. <br />
<br />
<b>Signed</b>:<br />
<br />
Hasankeyf Matters<br />
Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive<br />
The Corner House<br />
FIVAS Association for International Water Studies<br />
Humat Dijlah (Tigris River Protectors Association)<br />
Riverwatch<br />
Save the Tigris Campaign<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Notes</b>:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">* <a href="https://teftis.ktb.gov.tr/TR-14268/avrupa-mimari-mirasinin-korunmasi-sozlesmesi.html">https://teftis.ktb.gov.tr/TR-14268/avrupa-mimari-mirasinin-korunmasi-sozlesmesi.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">** For photographs of the monuments noted here, see: <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html">http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*** “Hisn Kaifa,” <i>Encyclopedia of Islam</i>, 1st edition, Leiden: Brill, 1913-36.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">**** According to the <i>İslam Ansiklopedisi</i> (“Hasankeyf,” <i>İslam Ansiklopedisi</i>, 16. Cilt, İstanbul: Diyanet Vakfı, 1997.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^ Oluş Arık, <i>Hasankeyf: Üç Dünyanın Buluştuğu Kent</i>, p. 188-90.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^^ Gernot Wiessner, “Derike: Kirche der vierzig Märtyrer,” <i>Christliche Kultbauten im Tur Abdin</i>, Teil IV, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1993, p. 129-36.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^^^ Gernot Wiessner, “Üçyol (Difne), Der el-Muhr: Klosterkirche,” <i>Christliche Kultbauten im Tur Abdin</i>, Teil I, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1982, p. 110-115.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^* According to a note in Arabic dated 1560, the endowment/waqf for the monastery was established in 1543. See Academia.edu for English original of A. Palmer, 'La montagne aux LXX monasteres: geographie monastique de Tur 'Abdin', in F. Jullien (ed.), Le monachisme syriaque (Paris 2012), p. 22.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^** cf. Andreas Fink, <i>Der arabische Dialekt von Hasankeyf am Tigris (Osttürkei)</i>: Geschichte – Grammatik – Texte – Glossar, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2017, p. 19.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">^*** Zeynep Ahunbay and Özge Balkız, “Outstanding Universal Value of Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley,” Doğa Derneği, <a href="https://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Outstanding-universal-value-of-hasankeyf-and-the-tigris-valley.pdf">https://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Outstanding-universal-value-of-hasankeyf-and-the-tigris-valley.pdf</a></span></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-76372583749643508082020-02-17T15:20:00.002+03:002020-02-17T15:25:52.680+03:00The disappearing Christian heritage of Hasankeyf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recently opened Hasankeyf Museum in the new town offers visitors an extraordinary glimpse of everyday life in the Neolithic age – when humans first began living in settled communities. Its collection of archaeological and architectural remains from Hasankeyf also includes rare examples of early Islamic gravestones, Roman and Late-Roman/Byzantine jewelry and coins, and architectural decorations from the middle centuries of Islamic civilization, when Hasankeyf was ruled by a succession of dynasties: Artukid, Ayyubid and Akkoyunlu.<br />
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While the historical scope of the museum is impressive, its presentation of artifacts from Hasankeyf’s Christian community is surprisingly weak. Indeed, many visitors will no doubt leave with the idea that the city’s Christian history ended with the advent of Islam in the 7th century. But ample evidence shows that a significant portion of Hasankeyf’s population remained Christian for more than 1300 years afterward.</div>
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In the 10th century, for example, Arab geographer al-Muqaddisi notes the city’s numerous churches,<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html#notes">*</a> while Ottoman records from the late 16th century indicate that of 1700 households in Hasankeyf, nearly 60 percent were Christian.<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html#notes">**</a></div>
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There is also considerable physical evidence attesting to a vibrant Christian community enduring into the later centuries of the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, most of this has been left unprotected beneath the waters of the new Ilısu Dam reservoir.</div>
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Take, for example, the cave church at the foot of Ra’s Kayim, the hill at the eastern edge of Hasankeyf’s lower city. Its interior walls are adorned in a pattern of crosses carved from the stone.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cave church at foot of Ra's Kayim</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cave church interior walls</td></tr>
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In the cave chapel of Saha Valley, at the southwest corner of the lower city, there is a distinctive cross and a number of graves.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cave chapel in Saha Valley</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cross inside Saha Valley cave chapel</td></tr>
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There are also stone masonry churches in the heart of the city and its outlying districts, such as Tareke Church, hidden among the houses above the recently demolished Hasankeyf market. This church, which reflects a building style common throughout southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq, is believed to have been the only structure to survive the demolition of a Christian neighborhood during construction of a highway bridge in the early 1970s.<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2020/02/the-disappearing-christian-heritage-of.html#notes">***</a> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tareke Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tareke Church detail</td></tr>
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While Tareke Church and the cave churches on the edge of the lower city will soon be flooded, Deiriki Church (which stands behind the Citadel) and Mor Aho Monastery (on the outskirts of Defne or Üç Yol Village) will both remain on dry land. However, without proper conservation, these monuments will likely succumb to the forces of time and vandals. They require urgent attention to ensure that they are preserved in a way that safeguards both their structural viability and historical authenticity.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mor Aho Monastery</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mor Aho Monastery interior</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deiriki Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deiriki Church</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deiriki Church detail</td></tr>
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The Hasankeyf Museum’s display of five crosses from the Byzantine period in no way suffices to document the long, rich history of Christianity in the region. It is particularly disturbing that the caves and stone masonry structures attesting to the contribution of Christian communities to the cultural life of Hasankeyf across millennia are largely undocumented, unprotected and absent from the new Hasankeyf Museum and Archaeological Park. The museum also completely ignores the important role Christians played in the city’s social and cultural history under Muslim rule, missing the opportunity to explore how these communities interacted with one another throughout the ages.</div>
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Today, the region’s Christian population is dwindling rapidly. This fact only heightens the urgency with which the Turkish Government must act to conserve the cultural heritage of diverse civilizations in Hasankeyf, rather than allowing it to disappear – either due to flooding by the Ilısu Reservoir or to benign neglect.</div>
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We call upon the Turkish authorities to stop the filling of the Ilısu Reservoir so that work may continue to research and document the important aspects of cultural heritage, including Hasankeyf’s Christian past, that have been neglected or omitted from the historical narrative presented in the Hasankeyf Museum. </div>
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<i>Notes on sources:</i></div>
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<i>* “Hisn Kaifa,” </i>Encyclopedia of Islam<i>, 1st edition, Leiden: Brill, 1913-36.</i><br />
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<i>** According to the </i>İslam Ansiklopedisi<i> (“Hasankeyf,” </i>İslam Ansiklopedisi<i>, 16. Cilt, İstanbul: Diyanet Vakfı, 1997).</i><br />
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<i>*** Oluş Arık, </i>Hasankeyf: Üç Dünyanın Buluştuğu Kent<i>, p. 188-90.</i></div>
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The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-15133881731567414292020-02-03T16:47:00.002+03:002020-02-03T16:48:07.545+03:00Latest news from Hasankeyf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The waters of the Ilısu Dam reservoir are starting to rise, but people are still fighting to save Hasankeyf and let the world know about the irreparable damage being done to cultural heritage, ecosystems, and communities.<br />
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Please follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/hkmatters" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hasankeyf-Matters-110815625711752/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for the latest updates. We are also compiling recent media coverage of Hasankeyf on our <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/p/in-news.html" target="_blank">In the News</a> page.<br />
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Additional resources on Twitter for those who understand Turkish include the accounts of <a href="https://twitter.com/hasankeyfdicle" target="_blank">Hasankeyf'i Yașatma Girişimi</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/HasankeyfKoord" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Koordinasyonu</a> and the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hasankeyf%C4%B0%C3%A7inGe%C3%A7De%C4%9Fil" target="_blank">#HasankeyfİçinGeçDeğil</a> -- It's Not Too Late for Hasankeyf. </div>
The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-85556926862885794262018-08-20T15:30:00.001+03:002018-09-13T06:36:53.829+03:00Bresser’s conduct in last year’s relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb did not comply with OECD Guidelines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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*** The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive *** Hasankeyf Matters ***</div>
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*** FIVAS – The Association for International Water Studies ***</div>
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<b>Summary</b> <br />
<i>The Dutch NCP for the OECD Guidelines has concluded that Bresser, a small to medium-size Dutch enterprise, “has not fully met the expectations and satisfied the due diligence criteria of the OECD Guidelines</i><i>” in the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb, in Hasankeyf, in Southeastern Turkey. The tomb is a late-15th-century monument of extraordinary cultural value and a symbol of the rich cultural heritage of the region. Its relocation impacts the human right to culture of the affected people. Companies of all sizes are expected to consider and minimize the potential impact of their activities on human rights. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The NCP notes that Bresser made some effort to carry out due diligence with regard to the involvement of the local community, but recommends that Bresser adopt a more structured approach before engaging in a project, in order to avoid contributing to adverse human rights impacts. In order to avoid a violation of the human right to culture, a broad consultation with all stakeholders, including the local community, should have been conducted prior to the removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb. The NCP’s statement also confirms that under the Guidelines, companies of all sizes, regardless of their location in the supply chain, are responsible for conducting adequate due diligence in order to prevent adverse impacts to human rights, including the right to culture/the right to cultural heritage and its conservation.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Introduction</b><br />
On August 20, the Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD <a href="http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/guidelines/" target="_blank">Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises</a> (“the Guidelines”) published its <a href="https://www.oecdguidelines.nl/notifications/news/2018/08/20/fs-fivas-the-initiative-to-keep-hasankeyf-alive-and-hasankeyf-matters-vs-bresser" target="_blank">final statement</a> concerning the notification about <a href="https://www.bresser.nu/" target="_blank">Bresser</a>. (A Turkish translation of the final statement is available <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/16uSnRUp_RFhL0pv7MGVUSLR0uzC3L6xr/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.) The final statement notes that the parties did not reach an agreement through a mediated dialogue. In its final statement, the NCP recommends changes in Bresser’s behavior. The notification was filed by the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> (Turkey), <a href="http://hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a> (Turkey), and the <a href="http://fivas.org/tag/english/" target="_blank">Association for International Water Studies</a> (FIVAS, Norway). <br />
<br />
Bresser, working as a sub-contractor to the Turkish firm <a href="http://www.erbuinsaat.com/" target="_blank">Er-Bu İnşaat</a>, supplied the technology and skills essential to the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb. The monument was built as the burial place of an Akkuyunlu prince killed in battle against the Ottomans in 1473. The tomb was relocated on May 12, 2017, under the protection of armed security forces, as part of the controversial Ilisu Dam project, which is expected to flood the ancient city of Hasankeyf and large parts of the Tigris River Valley.<br />
<br />
<b>Plaintiffs urge Bresser to cease work in Hasankeyf</b><br />
The organizations that filed the complaint have asked Bresser to cease all activity in Hasankeyf until a proper human rights assessment and the attendant due diligence are carried out. The plaintiffs maintain that Bresser’s contribution to moving the Tomb without the involvement and consent of the local population and other stakeholders makes the company responsible for a violation of the human right to culture. A sufficient due diligence would have made it possible for the company to identify and mitigate the adverse impacts. By moving the monument without consultation and infringing upon human rights, the project is also in breach of both Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (<a href="https://rm.coe.int/168007a087" target="_blank">CETS 121</a>) as well as what is considered best practice for a European structural relocation company.<br />
<br />
<b>The NCP’s recommendations</b> <br />
The NCP states that that Bresser should have used its leverage “as a supplier of essential technical knowledge and experience” and should have “ensured more thoroughly with the main contractor [Er-Bu İnşaat] and/or DSI, that procedures are in place providing sufficient opportunities for stakeholders to participate in project development and implementation.” The NCP states that this case shows that Bresser has not fully carried out the due diligence necessary to satisfy the expectations of the criteria of the OECD guidelines. The NCP further notes that Bresser did some efforts to carry out due diligence, but that these measures were not adequate to meet fully the expectations established by the Guidelines. The NCP recommends that the company adopt a more structured approach and show a clearer inclusion of risks external to the company in their risk management system.<br />
<br />
<b>All companies have a responsibility to conduct due diligence </b><br />
This decision is noteworthy for the international business community, as it affirms that all companies, including SMEs, have a responsibility to conduct risk-based due diligence under the Guidelines. The NCP acknowledges that “the size of the enterprise does not affect its responsibility to conduct due diligence, but may affect its manner of carrying out due diligence.” <br />
<br />
It is also worth nothing that the Dutch NCP confirms that cultural rights are part of human rights, meaning that international businesses of all sizes and status in supply chains should include the potential adverse impacts on cultural rights and the right to cultural heritage and its conservation as part of human rights risk-based due diligence processes.<br />
<br />
<b>The project continues to deny the right to stakeholder consultation</b><br />
It is alarming to observe that Bresser continues to assist Er-Bu and the DSI in the removal of select architectural elements. On August 6, the historic hamam (bath) was relocated using techniques similar to those used in removing the tomb, but now with even less transparency/public disclosure. The project continues to exclude a broad cross-section of relevant stakeholders, including the local community and independent experts in cultural heritage conservation, from the selection of monuments, the manner of removal, and their future location.<br />
<br />
While the final statement makes clear that Bresser’s actions and policies have not fully met the expectations established in the Guidelines, the fact that Bresser continues to participate in the removal of Hasankeyf monuments, with virtually no change in its behavior, raises questions about how the OECD Guidelines can help commercial enterprises to identify potential synergies between ethical corporate behavior and the creation of economic value.<br />
<br />
We call upon Bresser to halt all work in Hasankeyf until the cultural heritage conservation project is conducted in a way that meets the expectations established in the Guidelines.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a><br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a><br />
<a href="http://fivas.org/tag/english/" target="_blank">Fivas</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2JDyGyV1S2TmCvn1eMtizHfuO4eY6IQp3RRT3NbwHtPDw-oq9M34BEJV3WHrXTGOLmoVx2zORtPxpSFIL2ec7F_qU5dm-Oa7sQluYXsYFNhAaccWf-pVq4JLfxpWSgQi824BGoC30XHc/s1600/DSC_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2JDyGyV1S2TmCvn1eMtizHfuO4eY6IQp3RRT3NbwHtPDw-oq9M34BEJV3WHrXTGOLmoVx2zORtPxpSFIL2ec7F_qU5dm-Oa7sQluYXsYFNhAaccWf-pVq4JLfxpWSgQi824BGoC30XHc/s320/DSC_0115.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zeynel Bey Tomb, new location, (from southeast, May 2018)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNpGUNJPiWtQIcMHx2h_IALZ5hu4b5yQ7z1Z-RQH45NcJ0YGyInnBvv-hN1q2rzwxzMnrd7sdwwXWGLM7gtaI_EVzjuLNvW5vnTrgO-eutMtF4gf06x4TsvoErn6fdnIh-kS4zZrYjJWH/s1600/DSC_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNpGUNJPiWtQIcMHx2h_IALZ5hu4b5yQ7z1Z-RQH45NcJ0YGyInnBvv-hN1q2rzwxzMnrd7sdwwXWGLM7gtaI_EVzjuLNvW5vnTrgO-eutMtF4gf06x4TsvoErn6fdnIh-kS4zZrYjJWH/s320/DSC_0139.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zeynel Bey Tomb, new location (from northwest, May 2018)</td></tr>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-83602972092287762732018-04-03T16:59:00.000+03:002018-04-04T23:55:13.006+03:00Stand against the destruction of Hasankeyf: Join the Global Action Day on 28 April<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2012/05/perfect-time-to-visit-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">Spring</a> in Hasankeyf is typically a joyful time of new growth – of flowers blooming in the canyons and gardens, of young lambs and kids tottering about on unsteady legs, of <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2012/05/how-long-can-these-traditions-last.html" target="_blank">wild herbs</a> ripe for the picking and cooking. This year, though, the feeling is more of endings than beginnings as pressure mounts on Hasankeyf shopkeepers to vacate the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2018/03/eviction-threat-looms-over-merchants-in.html" target="_blank">historic bazaar</a> and work <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2017/10/destruction-accelerates-in-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">continues apace</a> to cover the cliff face of the citadel mount and create access roads for the relocation of monuments.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXv2j0LKAwNsBWD29-Fmfcrh3zEgoFNcZoz5YtjuAsvf_zpBtJ9kaEEva6OD4Wy05i-ZfFlUxRIL9Gw10CLawJ0ZDVsiZZJvlS5f-akwC13bdYbml5Q02wdBoDPY0rDTojvotAzv-sFInf/s1600/DSC_0167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXv2j0LKAwNsBWD29-Fmfcrh3zEgoFNcZoz5YtjuAsvf_zpBtJ9kaEEva6OD4Wy05i-ZfFlUxRIL9Gw10CLawJ0ZDVsiZZJvlS5f-akwC13bdYbml5Q02wdBoDPY0rDTojvotAzv-sFInf/s320/DSC_0167.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Construction of earthen wall in front of the Citadel (March 2018)</td></tr>
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<br />
But it is still not too late to save Hasankeyf.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXMyPQFOhs2vcb0mqk8U1s3GYpkQwtS6nuFdYl8deZpD9WH5qlAKH4hrLDp31EoJHjeVrd_YDbFzWSdBRXXnwaAw9IeJRuQhQH_udFr3ddof9EEq9Hk00LVDyk8qQet-rUM06FVsQuZjj/s1600/DSC_0205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikXMyPQFOhs2vcb0mqk8U1s3GYpkQwtS6nuFdYl8deZpD9WH5qlAKH4hrLDp31EoJHjeVrd_YDbFzWSdBRXXnwaAw9IeJRuQhQH_udFr3ddof9EEq9Hk00LVDyk8qQet-rUM06FVsQuZjj/s320/DSC_0205.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A long tradition of gardening continues to this day (March 2018)</td></tr>
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The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive and the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement have called for 28 April 2018 to be a Global Action Day for Hasankeyf and Sûr, the historic center of Diyarbakır (Amed in Kurdish), which has also sustained <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/diyarbakir-chamber-of-architects-calls-on-unesco-to-urgently-begin-reparations-for-world-heritage-site-sur-110311" target="_blank">serious damage</a> to its cultural heritage.<br />
<br />
"Hasankeyf and Sûr are two historical sites inhabited by people continuously for thousands of years at the Tigris River in Upper Mesopotamia," the organizers write. "The two places have also become symbols of resistance against ecological and social destruction by large investment projects."<br />
<br />
You can join that resistance by organizing creative solidarity actions in your own towns and cities on Saturday, 28 April 2018, to raise awareness about what is going on in Hasankeyf and Sûr, and to urge governments, <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2018/01/bresser-charged-with-violating-oecd.html" target="_blank">companies</a>, banks, and international organizations like the UN to either cease their involvement with the destructive projects in both places or speak out against them.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With public pressure from individuals and civil-society organizations, the Action Day organizers write, "the defense of these two sites is still possible and may give hope against further cultural, social, and ecological destruction and strengthen the perspective for peace."</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
For more information about the Global Action Day, contact <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQzyNYRkVWt6kL_2zoy91ppXNVkLCvge8x113tyEkh-EB50DlI9Fga0cGIkFivxenpF72z3S21irChPwkI0B5wZMHlTJYiEPSK_ST8fI1HdUoiWU0faXVYlhySzWwA7Tgi3u68M09klUP/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQzyNYRkVWt6kL_2zoy91ppXNVkLCvge8x113tyEkh-EB50DlI9Fga0cGIkFivxenpF72z3S21irChPwkI0B5wZMHlTJYiEPSK_ST8fI1HdUoiWU0faXVYlhySzWwA7Tgi3u68M09klUP/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New bridge and road construction for removal of monuments (March 2018)</td></tr>
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The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-74819376116449028982018-03-22T08:24:00.000+03:002018-03-22T10:12:23.134+03:00Hasankeyf merchants to protest DSİ's eviction order<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Merchants in Hasankeyf have agreed to gather at the old municipal building this morning to express their opposition to the eviction notice issued by the DSİ (Turkey's State Hydraulic Works). They continue to insist that it is too early to move to the new settlement area, which cannot at present support a level of commercial activity anywhere near that of the current market in historic Hasankeyf.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgGBefGS1xNhhl_H2yDc2x3skTcSyNo9KL1K-lziOuQDzIAIMcCwclYLMA_hySudH8bOV6fHAjAt4L_a5pAjzL3-SNBBewL41vpESBhdrZGLj1UMe_gduTng3ckGSVPFdpttojSb9OIcp/s1600/DSC_0074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgGBefGS1xNhhl_H2yDc2x3skTcSyNo9KL1K-lziOuQDzIAIMcCwclYLMA_hySudH8bOV6fHAjAt4L_a5pAjzL3-SNBBewL41vpESBhdrZGLj1UMe_gduTng3ckGSVPFdpttojSb9OIcp/s320/DSC_0074.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasankeyf market, March 2018</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It has been a month since the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2018/03/eviction-threat-looms-over-merchants-in.html" target="_blank">DSİ issued a tebligat</a> (official notice) ordering the merchants to vacate their present stores. Pressure is mounting. A few Hasankeyf residents have been forced to move from their homes on Dicle Sokak, and these houses have been demolished to make way for the removal of architectural elements. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S4KMOcYhp_gyyZX3fMPOZ0OL6hgGGKcqnLJsUJ_qKJf_bMpUnHJXsSSnd9heBZpqDh0b0pgyau-QLoUxYn-K4Mau36iqjbFi4tQhnqHWHsS1jMltczI1KFEKyd1Kv50ZNRMcS4yfGsYX/s1600/DSC_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S4KMOcYhp_gyyZX3fMPOZ0OL6hgGGKcqnLJsUJ_qKJf_bMpUnHJXsSSnd9heBZpqDh0b0pgyau-QLoUxYn-K4Mau36iqjbFi4tQhnqHWHsS1jMltczI1KFEKyd1Kv50ZNRMcS4yfGsYX/s320/DSC_0079.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Demolition of homes along Dicle Sokak (21 March 2018)</td></tr>
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<br />
To force the merchants out of their current locations before the new settlement area can support commercial activity would potentially violate the universal human right to work (as outlined in our <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2018/03/open-letter-to-dsi-forced-eviction-of.html" target="_blank">letter</a> to DSİ executives two weeks ago). The universal right to work is guaranteed by Turkey's <a href="http://www.basarmevzuat.com/dustur/kanun/5/2709/a/2709sk-01.htm" target="_blank">1982 Constitution</a> (e.g., IV. Freedom to work and make contracts, Article 48; V. Work-related Provisions, Article 49).<br />
<br />
The level of economic injustice perpetrated by the state (according to procedures defined in a <a href="http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2015/05/20150505-10-1.pdf" target="_blank">Council of State Declaration issued in 2015</a> and <a href="http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/06/20160601-2.pdf" target="_blank">amended in 2016</a>) is completely out of line with international conventions and standards for sustainable economic development:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Some Hasankeyf merchants have not been allowed to purchase new commercial property because they reside in surrounding villages and were, therefore, excluded from the compensation and relocation plan set up for Hasankeyf residents. </li>
<li>Others report that they have been the denied the right to buy commercial property because they are not married. </li>
<li>Some local entrepreneurs who have been operating various businesses in Hasankeyf for years have nonetheless been prevented from buying property due to bureaucratic technicalities (e.g., missing the cut-off date for registering a business, which was several years before the announcement in 2015 of procedures for resettlement). </li>
<li>A number of business owners have borrowed money to purchase equipment and/or merchandise and worry that they face severe financial hardship, or ruin, if they are not able to continue doing business in their current location.</li>
</ul>
An unofficial English translation of the 2015 Council of State Declaration is available <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3_BbpEG7wkWVnFuRGZnNWc4UjA/view" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
We reiterate our hope that the merchants of Hasankeyf will be allowed to conduct business in their current locations at least until the cultural heritage conservation project is nearing completion and the majority of residents of Hasankeyf have moved to the new settlement area.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4hZpjwZKogmLQ2oNxq-s9PO7UBMJPX3PB2HIVZQ7VJlZxlwlBpb0BJYfq7dyPqC1pNU9YK8wDwJ3GV2mS6c77VTeP8A0zBRd3F3QdsEkIMM4EKtKKn4694ZpzMCK8Sc0w0hYNmd5J2fE/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK4hZpjwZKogmLQ2oNxq-s9PO7UBMJPX3PB2HIVZQ7VJlZxlwlBpb0BJYfq7dyPqC1pNU9YK8wDwJ3GV2mS6c77VTeP8A0zBRd3F3QdsEkIMM4EKtKKn4694ZpzMCK8Sc0w0hYNmd5J2fE/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The route for removal of monuments is under construction (March 2018) </td></tr>
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-28159031378390161832018-03-05T17:31:00.000+03:002018-03-06T10:18:55.634+03:00Open letter to DSI: Forced eviction of Hasankeyf merchants would violate the universal right to work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
*** The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive *** Hasankeyf Matters *** </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*** Fivas – The Association for International Water Studies *** </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
*** The Corner House *** Riverwatch ***</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>OPEN LETTER</b></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
RE: Forced eviction of Hasankeyf merchants </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
would violate the universal right to work</div>
<br />
5 March 2018<br />
<br />
<b>To</b>: <br />
Mr. Murat Acu, General Director<br />
State Hydraulic Works (DSİ)<br />
<br />
Mr. Ali Naci Kösalı, Region 16 Director <br />
State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) <br />
<br />
Mr. Şehmus Erkan Dursun, Hasankeyf Branch Director<br />
State Hydraulic Works (DSİ)<br />
<br />
<b>CC</b>: <br />
Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroğlu<br />
Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs<br />
<br />
Mr. Ahmet Deniz<br />
Governor of Batman<br />
<br />
Mr. Faruk Bülent Baygüven<br />
District Governor of Hasankeyf<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Acu:<br />
Dear Mr. Kösalı:<br />
Dear Mr. Dursun:<br />
<br />
We write to you to express our concern about the official notice (<i>tebligat</i>) of 22 February ordering merchants to <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2018/03/eviction-threat-looms-over-merchants-in.html" target="_blank">vacate their shops</a> in the historic touristic bazaar of Hasankeyf within two weeks. The notice warns that failure to comply will result in forced eviction. Such action would constitute a flagrant violation of the right to work, which is enshrined in the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/" target="_blank">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> (Article 23). [Also published in <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=trk" target="_blank">Turkish</a>]. Case law of the European Court of Human Rights protects aspects of the right to work.<br />
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We note that the new settlement area is still under construction and cannot support a level of commercial activity equivalent to that currently enjoyed in the historic touristic bazaar. We also note that Turkey has <a href="https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-3&chapter=4&lang=en" target="_blank">ratified</a> the <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx" target="_blank">International Convention on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights </a>(ICESCR) and is obligated to <a href="http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fGC%2f18&Lang=en" target="_blank">respect, protect and fulfill</a> the right to work.<br />
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Of particular relevance to the present situation in Hasankeyf is the fact that under <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx" target="_blank">Article 6</a> of the ICESCR, Turkey is committed to safeguarding the right to work by, among other measures, implementing “policies and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.”<br />
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The right to work “also implies the right not to be unfairly deprived of employment,” (ICESCR <a href="http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fGC%2f18&Lang=en" target="_blank">General Comment No. 18</a>, paragraph 6). Should the government force the merchants out of their current location now or at any time prior to the installation and operation of facilities/services necessary to support and promote commercial activity in the new settlement area, it will have deprived the merchants, their families and the entire community of Hasankeyf of economic well-being and diminished their sense of dignity. Consequently, these merchants will be “entitled to adequate reparation, which may take the form of restitution, compensation, satisfaction or a guarantee of non-repetition” (General Comment No. 18, ICESCR, paragraph 48). <br />
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We refer also to the UN “<a href="http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Housing/Guidelines_en.pdf" target="_blank">Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacements</a>.” As this is a situation in which the merchants (and all residents) of Hasankeyf are compelled to relinquish their property through expropriation, the state is obligated to compensate those displaced for various damages they suffer as a result of their involuntary displacement. Such damages include, for example: “lost opportunities, including employment, education and social benefits; material damages and loss of earnings, including loss of earning potential; moral damage; and costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicine and medical services, and psychological and social services” (paragraph 60, emphasis added).<br />
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These Guidelines also state, “Cash compensation should under no circumstances replace real compensation in the form of land and common property resources. Where land has been taken, the evicted should be compensated with land commensurate in quality, size and value, or better” (paragraph 60, emphasis added).<br />
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Notwithstanding Turkey’s obligation to compensate any and all whose economic well-being is to be diminished (in many cases irreparably) by the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Plant Project, the merchants of Hasankeyf have proposed an interim solution, which would lessen to some extent the damage to their economic, social and cultural interests.<br />
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According to this proposal, the merchants would continue to conduct business in the historic market until the people of Hasankeyf have taken up residence in their new homes and the monuments to be salvaged (with the exception of the minaret of the Er-Rızk Mosque) have been relocated to the new settlement area. This would not only enable the touristic market to continue drawing visitors to the town, but it would also allow for a degree of social and economic continuity during the difficult transition to the new settlement area. <br />
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In conclusion, we call upon you to exercise the utmost care in planning and executing the relocation of the residents of Hasankeyf to their new homes and workplaces. You, as the state authorities managing the Ilısu Dam project, are responsible for safeguarding the human rights of all those affected by the project. In cases where these rights are violated, you are responsible for ensuring that those who have suffered harm are compensated appropriately.<br />
<br />
Signed<br />
<br />
Hasankeyf Matters<br />
The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive<br />
Fivas – The Association for International Water Studies, Norway<br />
The Corner House, United Kingdom<br />
Riverwatch, Austria<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx2B4XNehyphenhyphenyPq0VxziaiaL0RncHpFEO2ztjHerO507-aDxZX1GF-mC_pFaUNdZbJB20IAVOTn1Vi70qMMvroRVqlS0MHBXj3gOBoF8Ui1nzVp_t_W2IGHphLUNv6rjz6UC0-eldS8AwE9/s1600/DSC_0036_20170930_Hasankeyf+Market_Errizk+Minaret.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSx2B4XNehyphenhyphenyPq0VxziaiaL0RncHpFEO2ztjHerO507-aDxZX1GF-mC_pFaUNdZbJB20IAVOTn1Vi70qMMvroRVqlS0MHBXj3gOBoF8Ui1nzVp_t_W2IGHphLUNv6rjz6UC0-eldS8AwE9/s320/DSC_0036_20170930_Hasankeyf+Market_Errizk+Minaret.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Er-Rızk Mosque, Hasankeyf (built 1409)</td></tr>
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-3813928521914217382018-03-01T10:00:00.000+03:002018-03-01T10:03:02.304+03:00Eviction threat looms over merchants in Hasankeyf’s historic bazaar <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every weekend, a steady, if modest stream of tourists still visits Hasankeyf, despite the accelerating <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2017/10/destruction-accelerates-in-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">destruction</a> in and around the town. They buy souvenirs in the historic bazaar and enjoy a cup of tea or a meal. But local residents say the government has given merchants along the “touristic bazaar” an ultimatum: vacate their shops within two weeks, or be forcibly evicted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZAmr0E2L7cLk1hXwk_8Y7KsXdoML5ZheA1-gXESLLFTTYcnjEaqzDXELAb33p8rVuvQpYwSDV0GgMoXTgqfWlYqNYNJOAkU0Ane3EQMY2214vp6VJXx929Fcx8uihHKjcVXxPwTK-9Tf/s1600/DSC_0032_20170930_Hasankeyf+Market_Gunduz.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZAmr0E2L7cLk1hXwk_8Y7KsXdoML5ZheA1-gXESLLFTTYcnjEaqzDXELAb33p8rVuvQpYwSDV0GgMoXTgqfWlYqNYNJOAkU0Ane3EQMY2214vp6VJXx929Fcx8uihHKjcVXxPwTK-9Tf/s320/DSC_0032_20170930_Hasankeyf+Market_Gunduz.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasankeyf's historic market (Fall 2017)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Previous announcements set deadlines of 1 October 2017 and 17 January 2018 for closing the bazaar ahead of the town’s planned move to a new settlement area outside of the flooding zone. But last week’s notification (dated 22 February) is said to be stronger, warning that merchants could be evicted by force if they do not comply. Shopkeepers are understandably hesitant to abandon their workplaces, especially as peak season approaches; some are saying, “We’re not going.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPXszpGxp7PXIvrFUw4WsSyukObCYcHhAZTUs4ZwdUfJ8nrsJTjUdMleM8VtppKtqHLzV0cvDwFlOrIrwF0zS2nxspsZAd3QXqWCZDYdIUx5JZSUECT0BbBV_qq-BTOnldQ-1DjBSAfqf/s1600/DSC_0081_20180213_new+market-Zeynel+Bey+Tomb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVPXszpGxp7PXIvrFUw4WsSyukObCYcHhAZTUs4ZwdUfJ8nrsJTjUdMleM8VtppKtqHLzV0cvDwFlOrIrwF0zS2nxspsZAd3QXqWCZDYdIUx5JZSUECT0BbBV_qq-BTOnldQ-1DjBSAfqf/s320/DSC_0081_20180213_new+market-Zeynel+Bey+Tomb.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new Hasankeyf marketplace (Feb 2018)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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Many merchants have been allocated spaces for their shops in the new settlement area, but there are no customers to serve in the new marketplace, which sits near the tourism school, within view of the new museum. Neither facility has opened. In fact, the new town is still under construction, and it will be years before major tourism attractions such as the museum and an “archaeopark” (where a handful of architectural elements taken from historic Hasankeyf will be displayed) are ready for visitors. The merchants know that their incomes will drop sharply as soon as they close their current shops.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S68JhrsfBjsxSgoCOT6-eDAKFHOKDc1kXfCGaqUcpGkr755dmsnFEoty2xCrMhr8kHUEtX2IoldzSq4b_UO_zO-cUDHj1auXOiQaC-Ip5k7FjjJiBCXMTjqZRI1zvfMtC0FCQjfLFBJ6/s1600/DSC_0062_20180213_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb-new+housing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S68JhrsfBjsxSgoCOT6-eDAKFHOKDc1kXfCGaqUcpGkr755dmsnFEoty2xCrMhr8kHUEtX2IoldzSq4b_UO_zO-cUDHj1auXOiQaC-Ip5k7FjjJiBCXMTjqZRI1zvfMtC0FCQjfLFBJ6/s320/DSC_0062_20180213_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb-new+housing.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New housing is still under construction (Feb 2018)</td></tr>
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The ostensible reason for evicting the merchants at this early date is to demolish the market and clear a path for the removal of the minaret of the Rizk Mosque, which stands at the western end of the market street. Several local residents have noted, however, that the state has not expropriated all properties along the market street, as some owners have rejected the government’s cash offers. The path cannot be fully cleared until these cases are resolved.<br />
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Some shop owners argue further that the minaret should not be moved until after the other <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2017/06/europa-nostras-board-gives-statement-on.html" target="_blank">monuments</a> to be salvaged have been relocated to the new archaeological park and the Hasankeyf residents settled in their new homes. This would enable the bazaar to continue drawing visitors to the town, allowing for a degree of social and economic continuity during the difficult transition to the new settlement area. <br />
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Unfortunately, local residents report that recent conversations with government officials have been especially tense, and they fear that the market could be closed forcibly early this month. We hope that the authorities will find a way for Hasankeyf merchants to keep earning a living and providing for their families.<br />
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-38729465387383001142018-01-28T23:26:00.000+03:002018-01-28T23:28:37.662+03:00NGOs charge Bresser with violating OECD Guidelines in its relocation of Hasankeyf‘s Zeynel Bey Tomb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive<br />
Hasankeyf Matters<br />
FIVAS – The Association for International Water Studies<br />
<br />
12 January 2018<br />
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<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> (HYG), <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a> (HKM) and the <a href="http://fivas.org/tag/english/" target="_blank">Association for International Water Studies,</a> Norway (FIVAS), welcome the recently published <a href="https://www.oecdguidelines.nl/documents/publication/2018/01/09/publication-dutch-ncp-initial-assessment-filed-by-3-ngos---bresser" target="_blank">Initial Assessment</a> with great anticipation and hope for a constructive dialogue with <a href="http://www.bresser.nu/over-bresser/37/Profiel" target="_blank">Bresser</a>. The Initial Assessment outlines the issues of the complaint for further discussion between Bresser and the plaintiffs, which may be facilitated by the <a href="https://www.oecdguidelines.nl/ncp" target="_blank">Dutch National Contact Point</a> (NCP). The National Contact Point is an independent body tasked with facilitating dialogue and mediation on implementation of the <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/governance/oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises_9789264115415-en" target="_blank"><i>Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises</i></a> of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (<a href="http://www.oecd.org/" target="_blank">OECD</a>).<br />
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(For the Turkish version of the <i>Guidelines</i>, please click <a href="https://www.ekonomi.gov.tr/portal/faces/home/yatirim/yurtdisinaYatirim/OECD?_afrLoop=14704486536719233&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=1ccfelg7c&_adf.ctrl-state=lv6ov8eg2_292#!%40%40%3F_afrWindowId%3D1ccfelg7c%26_afrLoop%3D14704486536719233%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dlv6ov8eg2_296" target="_blank">here</a>. An unofficial Turkish translation of the Initial Assessment is available <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gTZKkrFS9F5aSjFNqnFbghqIw7Fp8mSp/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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The complaint filed by HYG, HKM and FIVAS with the Dutch NCP on 28 July 2017 alleges that Bresser, a firm located in The Netherlands and specializing in the relocation, jacking and reinforcement of foundations, caused a violation of human rights through its role in relocating the tower and dome of the Zeynel Bey Tomb, a 15th-century memorial to a fallen warrior, which, until 12 May 2017, stood on the left bank of the Tigris River, in Hasankeyf, in the Kurdish region of Southeastern Turkey. The tomb is one of the most significant monuments of the 12,000-year-old settlement of Hasankeyf.<br />
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This structure relocation project was initiated by Turkey’s DSI (State Hydraulic Works), within the framework of the controversial Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant project, which, if implemented as planned, will flood the historic city of Hasankeyf as well as large parts of the Tigris Basin, including 199 villages fully or partially. <br />
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In its initial assessment, the Dutch NCP has concluded that the case – or “specific instance” – partly merits further consideration. This is the first time that cultural rights as human rights have been the subject of an NCP procedure. <br />
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Various international conventions and declarations confirm that cultural rights, including access to cultural heritage, are part of human rights. These include the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the UNESCO Declaration concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage (2003), Report A/HRC/31/59 by the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and the UN Human Rights Council resolution 33/20.<br />
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In its statement, the Dutch NCP also states emphatically, “The decision to further examine part of this specific instance is not based on substantive research or fact-finding, nor does it entail any judgment as to whether or not Bresser has violated the <i>Guidelines</i>.”<br />
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In conclusion, the NCP writes, “. . . handling this specific instance may help clarify the OECD due-diligence recommendations for multinational enterprises regarding the human right to culture and/or the right to cultural heritage and its conservation.”<br />
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<b>Summary of the complaint </b><br />
Our disagreement with Bresser can be summarized in four points:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The absence of substantive consultation with the diverse stakeholders did not meet the requirements for public participation established by <a href="https://rm.coe.int/168007a087" target="_blank">CETS 121</a> and described in the <i>Guidelines.</i></li>
<li>We maintain that Bresser failed to conduct adequate due diligence to uncover potential adverse effects of the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb and that proper due diligence would have revealed problems requiring the firm’s attention and action.</li>
<li>We argue that the removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb resulted in a severe degradation of the value of the monument as cultural heritage and therefore constituted a violation of human rights.</li>
<li>Finally, Bresser had leverage, which they should have used to bring the project into compliance with the <i>Guidelines</i>.</li>
</ol>
<b>Summary of Bresser’s response</b><br />
In response, Bresser has stated to the Dutch NCP that the complaint is unjustified. They assert that they conducted due diligence and stakeholder consultation prior to and during the project.<br />
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We continue to hold that Bresser is in violation of the <i>Guidelines</i>, for the reasons outlined in the Initial Assessment (see also 1-4 above), and that the information given by Bresser so far does not suffice to demonstrate that the company is in compliance with the <i>Guidelines</i>. We expect that following careful examination of these issues Bresser will cease work in Hasankeyf and take the necessary steps (enumerated in our demands) to comply with the <i>Guidelines</i>.<br />
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<b>About the OECD <i>Guidelines</i></b><br />
The <i>Guidelines</i> and the specific instance process are backed by the OECD’s 35 member states, including The Netherlands and <a href="https://www.ekonomi.gov.tr/portal/faces/home/yatirim/yurtdisinaYatirim/oecd-temas-noktasi?_afrLoop=14704287021792846&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=bfrq1nz8l&_adf.ctrl-state=lv6ov8eg2_231#!%40%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dbfrq1nz8l%26_afrLoop%3D14704287021792846%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dlv6ov8eg2_245" target="_blank">Turkey</a>, as well as 13 countries that have elected to adhere to the <i>Guidelines</i>. As noted in the Preface to the <i>Guidelines</i>, “Governments adhering to the <i>Guidelines</i> are committed to continuous improvement of both domestic and international policies with a view to improving the welfare and living standards of all people.”<br />
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The <i>Guidelines</i> outline voluntary, legally non-binding standards of corporate ethics for international companies of all sizes. There is no legally binding element in the outcome of the NCP procedure.<br />
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<b>What we hope to achieve in this process</b><br />
As noted in the Initial Assessment, this specific instance focuses on the chapter on human rights, in which the <i>Guidelines</i> urge companies to, “Carry out human rights due diligence as appropriate to their size, the nature and context of operations and the severity of the risks of adverse human rights impacts” (item 5 of Chapter IV).<br />
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We believe that we have an obligation as representatives of civil society engaged in an OECD-specific-instance procedure to understand the reasoning underpinning Bresser’s interpretation of their mandate and use this opportunity to work jointly with Bresser and the Dutch NCP to produce a clearer articulation of the measures small enterprises should follow to meet the obligations for due diligence under the <i>Guidelines</i>.<br />
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As plaintiffs representing the people whose cultural heritage is impacted, we intend to embark upon this dialogue in good faith. We solemnly hope that Bresser will participate in good faith in further discussions, and that we will reach a common understanding of the importance of people’s participation in the development of their cultural heritage.<br />
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Ideally, future discussions would reach strong statements on the standards for due diligence and stakeholder consultation in projects concerning cultural heritage. The questions of due diligence and stakeholder consultation are of paramount importance in all sectors, and especially in the field of historic preservation.<br />
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-91453789271089521892017-10-30T12:35:00.001+03:002017-10-31T13:51:09.200+03:00Destruction accelerates in Hasankeyf and the Tigris Basin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Environmental and heritage destruction has accelerated in Turkey’s historic city of Hasankeyf as crews work day and night, seven days a week to collapse vulnerable portions of the cliffs ringing the town and fill in some 200 caves. The work’s <a href="http://www.dsi.gov.tr/haberler/2016/08/16/hasankeyf-antik-kentinin-jeolojik-jeoteknik-bak%C4%B1mdan-ara%C5%9Ft%C4%B1r%C4%B1lmas%C4%B1-ve-g%C3%BC%C3%A7lendirilmesi-yap%C4%B1m%C4%B1" target="_blank">stated aim</a> is to reinforce Hasankeyf’s ancient citadel ahead of completion of the Ilısu Dam, which would flood most of the town beneath approximately 60 meters of water. Preparations are also being made to <a href="https://www.ntv.com.tr/sanat/hasankeyf-su-altinda-da-ziyaretcilerini-agirlayacak,rBKLA5uMqEyX1BA1uSdS3Q" target="_blank">construct a wall</a> to cover the cliff face of the citadel mount. And a new road has been built across the Tigris River to haul equipment and rubble to and from the work site, significantly altering the course of the river and severely reducing its water quality.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ57Ku0emBbYEEP38qGTSvKuFRce7H5vHILmc9zuzQQp1a_nO-R3oIuhyphenhyphenOxZ3Gbu3wp5qIJIqQnOn855AstyUWQX-zXKhvoNxcHKjrcz8GwDEg2yScj_cmBATVkNgUD49vt-hz44rnHNl/s1600/DSC_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQ57Ku0emBbYEEP38qGTSvKuFRce7H5vHILmc9zuzQQp1a_nO-R3oIuhyphenhyphenOxZ3Gbu3wp5qIJIqQnOn855AstyUWQX-zXKhvoNxcHKjrcz8GwDEg2yScj_cmBATVkNgUD49vt-hz44rnHNl/s320/DSC_0117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The river has been diverted from base of the Citadel</td></tr>
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The serious risks to both the historic heritage of Hasankeyf and the natural ecosystem of the Upper Tigris Basin posed by this work, which is being carried out without proper transparency or public involvement, are being documented by the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive (<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf'i Yaşatma Girişimi</a>) and Hasankeyf Matters. The work to reinforce the cliffs is causing irreparable damage to the historical and cultural fabric of Hasankeyf, significantly reducing the value of the citadel and the surrounding natural rock formations as cultural heritage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7XDEmpndbRMjlj9NoXVUhvxSnZc-qeNJsH_Dfc9sPJz7t7wHEXRtF6krUjSDulK-ItrxISLVCoMpcKueNb5G3qKJxM34bO2AFOcRXrWMCH8D3N6Vyz-EKdjip9ngEbVdRJGS9DEqeyql/s1600/DSC_0020_20171015_Work+at+base+of+Citadel-Darphane.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM7XDEmpndbRMjlj9NoXVUhvxSnZc-qeNJsH_Dfc9sPJz7t7wHEXRtF6krUjSDulK-ItrxISLVCoMpcKueNb5G3qKJxM34bO2AFOcRXrWMCH8D3N6Vyz-EKdjip9ngEbVdRJGS9DEqeyql/s320/DSC_0020_20171015_Work+at+base+of+Citadel-Darphane.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collapsing cliffs at Darphane / foundation work below Citadel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Similarly, the use of heavy equipment to collapse the cliffs beginning in August, together with the on-going construction of the new bridge one kilometre to the east of Hasankeyf, has polluted the Tigris River and is destroying extensive areas of habitat for numerous species of fish, plants and wildlife. In the course of this work, trees on the banks of the river are being cut unnecessarily and piles of debris are rising. Due to the change in the course of the Tigris, the fish habitat in the riverbed has been severely damaged for at least one and a half kilometres. Local observers report that <a href="http://batmangazetesi.com.tr/haber-5566-Balik-katliami.html" target="_blank">thousands of fish have been killed</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Fq3ss_cvUwD3arAFRQSxTKoUFu4FvA1Mz25SP5w6wHxrKrUbnt8JLkIZpfnvygMX71trzXhcpcD5Pa8GZEb5SagEvyV23pKXIOgV9urjZUEKFe_S2D2HxxDJbUEzC9h7gMeSZxWQKxhK/s1600/DSC_0023_20171001_River+course+altered+at+Citadel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Fq3ss_cvUwD3arAFRQSxTKoUFu4FvA1Mz25SP5w6wHxrKrUbnt8JLkIZpfnvygMX71trzXhcpcD5Pa8GZEb5SagEvyV23pKXIOgV9urjZUEKFe_S2D2HxxDJbUEzC9h7gMeSZxWQKxhK/s320/DSC_0023_20171001_River+course+altered+at+Citadel.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extensive environmental destruction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This destruction is being done in violation of legal requirements for transparency, which require that the names of contractors and sub-contractors carrying out this work be disclosed. However, on the sign describing the work in progress, the space designated for the names of contractors and sub-contractors for the project has been left blank. Our research reveals that the contractor is the <a href="http://iccgrup.com/tr/" target="_blank">ICC Group</a> (ICC Grup), while the sub-contractor collapsing the cliffs is <a href="http://www.ruzgardagcilik.com/tr/" target="_blank">Rüzgar Industrial Mountaineering</a> (Rüzgar Endüstriyel Dağcılık). Both firms are based in Ankara.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wrBLf3_Rqpw9NS9GZIRTHklImnOPSsPClqCpPgt9hddQdaHc25TgkbZvWFN_DF3XIfUPwRePV0sZoLdHtnrzqHIY7k9b0am6W2CvS1yDjrDtqPr2EVZboyOzRUEz4s5wYu8EQYevUU0c/s1600/DSC_0048_20171001_Citadel+Reinforcement+Project+Sign.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wrBLf3_Rqpw9NS9GZIRTHklImnOPSsPClqCpPgt9hddQdaHc25TgkbZvWFN_DF3XIfUPwRePV0sZoLdHtnrzqHIY7k9b0am6W2CvS1yDjrDtqPr2EVZboyOzRUEz4s5wYu8EQYevUU0c/s320/DSC_0048_20171001_Citadel+Reinforcement+Project+Sign.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contractors and sub-contractors not identified on project sign</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
News articles and <a href="http://www.dsi.gov.tr/haberler/2016/08/16/hasankeyf-antik-kentinin-jeolojik-jeoteknik-bak%C4%B1mdan-ara%C5%9Ft%C4%B1r%C4%B1lmas%C4%B1-ve-g%C3%BC%C3%A7lendirilmesi-yap%C4%B1m%C4%B1" target="_blank">press releases</a> on the website of the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ), which is responsible for the Ilısu Dam Project, state that following the collapsing of cliffs around the citadel – an area that includes the hills of Ra’s Tibbah and Darphane – portions of the cliffs and surrounding valleys would be filled in with 4.75 cubic meters of debris/rubble and concrete. However, no plan for this has been shared with the public.<br />
<br />
The failure to inform and consult the public regularly on substantive details of the citadel reinforcement project contravenes the laws of the Republic of Turkey, specifically <a href="http://teftis.kulturturizm.gov.tr/TR,14268/avrupa-mimari-mirasinin-korunmasi-sozlesmesi.html" target="_blank">Law Number 3534</a>, which brought the country into legal compliance with the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Preservation of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (<a href="https://rm.coe.int/168007a087" target="_blank">CETS 121</a>). Article 14, Paragraph 1 of that law states that each party to the Convention will undertake “to establish in the various stages of the decision-making process, appropriate machinery for the supply of information, consultation and co-operation between the State, the regional and local authorities, cultural institutions and associations, and the public”.<br />
<br />
International law mandates that intangible cultural heritage must be protected and that the public must be substantively and systematically consulted regarding projects for the conservation of immovable cultural heritage. Contrary to these legal requirements, the on-going work in and around Hasankeyf – its goals, technical plans, detailed methods and time schedule – is shrouded in extreme secrecy. <br />
<br />
Meanwhile residents of Hasankeyf and neighbouring villages and towns are witnessing each day the dismemberment of the landscape where they and their ancestors have lived for centuries. Experiencing the dust and sounds of explosions created by this project, and seeing the destruction of historic landmarks and touchstones for collective memory, is intensifying the trauma and uncertainty they have lived with for 50 years, since the first proposal for the Ilısu Dam Project that would mean the death of their community and way of life.<br />
<br />
As the filling and covering of cliffs is causing significant damage to the immovable historical structure of Hasankeyf and to the fabric of the town’s intangible cultural heritage, the project also violates the human right to culture upheld by the <a href="http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/RES/33/20" target="_blank">United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 33/20</a>.<br />
<br />
We thus call again on the companies destroying the historical fabric of Hasankeyf and the Tigris Basin ecosystem to withdraw immediately from these damaging projects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzoky5pKvr5yXGpgead_JLA6O0TFCgG8lXl-PAx5SoRtw9FDahWAvK7JGwOSSQSzmaRwhzOBiLx158X30mkVPtuqPUdDlXW3cQDpqWycUq4a-obUcsPeoYThUbvGlQ9wF5lK4KC0qy5bwd/s1600/DSC_0033_20171015_Work+on+Citadel+Wall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzoky5pKvr5yXGpgead_JLA6O0TFCgG8lXl-PAx5SoRtw9FDahWAvK7JGwOSSQSzmaRwhzOBiLx158X30mkVPtuqPUdDlXW3cQDpqWycUq4a-obUcsPeoYThUbvGlQ9wF5lK4KC0qy5bwd/s320/DSC_0033_20171015_Work+on+Citadel+Wall.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A concrete wall is meant to protect the cliff face from erosion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-16121924465761435402017-09-11T15:03:00.001+03:002017-09-11T15:03:29.254+03:00Call for solidarity with Hasankeyf: Join the 2nd Global Action Day on 23 September 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/29/turkeys-12000-year-old-hasankeyf-citadel-faces-obliteration" target="_blank">destruction of historic cave dwellings</a> and the relocation in May of the 15th-century <a href="http://news.trust.org/item/20170418130733-pielj/" target="_blank">Zeynel Bey Tomb</a> -- the first of nine monuments the government plans to move -- have been disheartening events to witness for those of us who love Hasankeyf. But the fight is not yet over.<br />
<br />
Our allies at the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hasankeyfyasatmagirisimi/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf'i Yaşatma Girişimi</a>) have announced that 23 September 2017 will be the second global action day for the defense of Hasankeyf and the Tigris River. They are calling for activists, members of social movements, NGOs and others all over the world to protest the controversial Ilısu Dam project that threatens Hasankeyf and communities far beyond.<br />
<br />
Since the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?p=284" target="_blank">first global action day</a> in September 2015, construction of the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant has continued without a break, with protests in Turkey suppressed under emergency rule. But demonstrations have resumed with new energy since part of the castle rock at Hasankeyf was destroyed in mid-August 2017 using explosives and other means, an action taken without proper legal permission. This latest development marks the start of a new level of destruction of the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">outstanding and unique cultural and natural heritage</a> of the 12,000-year-old settlement of Hasankeyf and the surrounding Tigris Valley. It is also pushing people out of their homes in Hasankeyf.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LP4_bFDaiJ8xHHzNyakk-P1VswV1ZLVCyOA-VnFW3Zw6SP7OHnmMFx2XxeKC365Q7MLPEN1RiMG3aetgqCih4vc3aqLPdMttD3pGcKNQl-FFni6zsGZxVK_-ODGAyFGDQJYHqfR_pLgQ/s1600/Hasankeyf-Action_2-1024x681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1024" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LP4_bFDaiJ8xHHzNyakk-P1VswV1ZLVCyOA-VnFW3Zw6SP7OHnmMFx2XxeKC365Q7MLPEN1RiMG3aetgqCih4vc3aqLPdMttD3pGcKNQl-FFni6zsGZxVK_-ODGAyFGDQJYHqfR_pLgQ/s400/Hasankeyf-Action_2-1024x681.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first Global Action Day for Hasankeyf, in September 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
At the same time, these actions have brought activists and organizations from all over Turkey, as well as Iraq and Iran, together in opposition to the Ilısu Dam project. Hasankeyf has a strong symbolic value for all people in Turkey struggling against dams and other destructive investment projects, and many activists from all over the country are expected to come to Hasankeyf to show solidarity on 23 September 2017.<br />
<br />
The Turkish government has announced several times that construction of the dam is nearly complete, though this is difficult to independently verify. What is important is that we stand together against this project which will destroy a whole region while benefitting only a few.<br />
<br />
Along with the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, we invite all people concerned about Hasankeyf to organize a public action in your city or country on 23 September 2017 against the destructive Ilısu project. The demands of such protests should target the Turkish government, the Austrian company Andritz -- the leader in the Ilısu consortium -- and request action from the Iraqi government, which has thus far been silent about the effect the dam will have on its <a href="https://yallairaq.com/en/news/ilisu-dam-likely-impact-iraq/" target="_blank">already strained water resources</a>.<br />
<br />
Please share news and photos of your action with us, and on social media, using the hashtags #<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HasankeyfeDokunma&src=typd" target="_blank">HasankeyfeDokunma</a> ('Don't Touch Hasankeyf') and/or #<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HasankeyfeSesVer&src=typd" target="_blank">HasankeyfeSesVer</a> ('Speak Out for Hasankeyf').<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The struggle continues -- Hasankeyf Yaşasın! Long Live Hasankeyf!</div>
</div>
The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-78824569337457957412017-06-29T11:28:00.000+03:002017-07-05T14:43:29.233+03:00Europa Nostra’s Board gives statement on the endangered heritage site of Hasankeyf, Turkey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Hague, 29 June 2017 — The Board of Europa Nostra, the leading heritage organisation in Europe, made a statement about the Ancient city of Hasankeyf and its surroundings in Turkey, listed among the <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/europes-7-endangered-heritage-sites-2016-announced/" target="_blank">7 Most Endangered</a> heritage sites in Europe in 2016, following a nomination by the Cultural Awareness Foundation. In their statement, the Board of Europa Nostra deeply deplores the decision of the Turkish government to build a dam that would lead to the flooding of a site of world significance, without proper and transparent justification and without adequate compensation measures. In particular, the Board regrets that the removal of the Zeynel Bay Tomb has been carried out with insufficient consultation with the local and scholarly communities and that other Islamic monuments of great significance remain highly endangered. The Board of Europa Nostra urges the Turkish authorities to adhere to the standards of heritage protection that are included in the European Conventions and to set up a proper consultation process with local communities and civil society organisations concerned in an open and transparent manner.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IcK9Bont6wOgXgblfHAeaTPHi8pg8pCj7a0HMJjp8fL3j4HBXmcazvuHAoudqpi0m6d31f6pxSNfPn0wzo4v0UASc0dpteum3Zn4zyEvjDBsfJ-nP1XN4Z-YlXG9pLNPZrkROpb5NyDA/s1600/23422128786_011541c136_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-IcK9Bont6wOgXgblfHAeaTPHi8pg8pCj7a0HMJjp8fL3j4HBXmcazvuHAoudqpi0m6d31f6pxSNfPn0wzo4v0UASc0dpteum3Zn4zyEvjDBsfJ-nP1XN4Z-YlXG9pLNPZrkROpb5NyDA/s320/23422128786_011541c136_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koç Mosque and Sultan Süleyman Mosque (center);<br />
minaret of Er-Rizk Mosque (left)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Statement by the Board of Europa Nostra</b><br />
<br />
The Board of Europa Nostra, meeting on 14 May 2017 in the framework of the Europa Nostra’s European Heritage Congress in Turku, Finland, was advised that the longstanding intention of the Turkish Government to move the Zeynel Bay Tomb, a monument featuring Timurid tradition, has now been completed, as part of the ongoing government project to build a dam that will lead to the flooding of the archaeologically and architecturally important site of Hasankeyf on the river Tigris.<br />
<br />
It is to be regretted that this removal has been carried out without sufficient documentation having been provided and certainly with insufficient consultation either with the local or with the scholarly community, both of which believe that the value of the site of Hasankeyf is far greater than the benefits to be obtained by its flooding. It is to be even more regretted that other Islamic monuments of great significance including the medieval bridge of the 12th century of the Artukid dynasty, the 15th century mosque complex and tomb of the Ayyubid Sultan Süleyman and the Imam Abdullah tomb, remain at risk. For all these reasons, Hasankeyf was included on its 2016 List of 7 Most Endangered sites in Europe, as part of the programme run by Europa Nostra in partnership with the EIB Institute and the Council of Europe Development Bank.<br />
<br />
The Europa Nostra Board also deplores the fact that the law recently passed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly overrules the decision taken by the Turkish courts in 2013 that the relevant Environmental Impact Assessment Report was inadequate.<br />
<br />
In the light of the above worrying developments, Europa Nostra Board states the following:<br />
<br />
1) The foreseen flooding of Hasankeyf would destroy evidence for one of the oldest organised human settlements ever discovered. Such a site is not just of national and European but of world significance. Therefore, we believe that it is incumbent not only on Turkey but on the entire international community to ensure its safeguard.<br />
<br />
2) Hasankeyf possesses one of the richest treasures of Islamic monuments in any country member of the Council of Europe. Acknowledging and affirming the value of this heritage for Europe’s shared cultural heritage, we deeply deplore the decision of the government of Turkey, a Member State of the Council of Europe, to build a dam which would lead to the flooding of such a site and, as a consequence, to the loss of one of the most valuable witnesses of Islamic heritage in a European country, without proper and transparent justification and without adequate compensation measures.<br />
<br />
3) We urge the Turkish authorities to adhere to the principles and standards of heritage protection which are included in the European Conventions adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe and of which Turkey is a signatory (namely the Granada Convention and the Valletta Convention). We also make a strong appeal to the Turkish authorities to set up a proper consultation process with local communities and civil society organisations concerned in an open and transparent manner. It is by now very late but applying best international practice to this case of outstanding but endangered heritage could still be beneficial.<br />
<br />
<b>CONTACTS:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Europa Nostra</b><br />
Joana Pinheiro<br />
Communications Coordinator<br />
E: jp@europanostra.org<br />
T: +31 63 43 65 985, M: + 31 6 34 36 59 85<br />
<br />
<b>Hasankeyf Matters</b><br />
John Crofoot<br />
Co-founder<br />
E: johncrofoot@yahoo.com<br />
T: +1 404 831 7757, +90 542 285 85 67<br />
<br />
<b>TO FIND OUT MORE:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.europanostra.org/" target="_blank">www.europanostra.org</a><br />
<a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/" target="_blank">7mostendangered.eu</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/europanostra" target="_blank">Europa Nostra</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/europanostra" target="_blank">@europanostra</a><br />
Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/europanostra" target="_blank">europanostra</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/">www.hasankeyfmatters.com</a><br />
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hasankeyf-Matters-110815625711752/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/HKmatters" target="_blank">@HKMatters</a><br />
<br />
<b>BACKGROUND:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>About Europa Nostra</b><br />
<a href="http://www.europanostra.org/" target="_blank">Europa Nostra</a> is the pan-European federation of heritage NGOs which is also supported by a wide network of public bodies, private companies and individuals. Covering more than 40 countries in Europe, Europa Nostra is the voice of civil society committed to safeguarding and promoting Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. Maestro Plácido Domingo is the President of the organisation. Founded in 1963, Europa Nostra is today recognised as the most representative heritage network in Europe. We campaign to save Europe's endangered monuments, sites and landscapes, in particular through the <a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/" target="_blank">7 Most Endangered programme</a>. We celebrate excellence through the <a href="http://www.europeanheritageawards.eu/" target="_blank">EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards</a>. We also contribute to the formulation and implementation of European strategies and policies related to heritage, through a structured dialogue with European Institutions and the coordination of the <a href="http://europeanheritagealliance.eu/" target="_blank">European Heritage Alliance 3.3</a>. <br />
<br />
<b>About Hasankeyf Matters</b><br />
Hasankeyf Matters was formed in Istanbul in 2012 with the goal of consolidating information about Hasankeyf, its history and its potential for economic development. With volunteers based in Hasankeyf as well Istanbul, Hasankeyf Matters has organised twice-yearly “<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/search/label/Ingatherings" target="_blank">ingatherings</a>” in Hasankeyf to attract visitors and showcase elements of traditional life (e.g. gardening, herding, fishing, foraging) that could serve as the foundation for commercial services for tourists. Hasankeyf Matters partnered with <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> and the <a href="http://www.kulturbilinci.org/eng/about_us.html" target="_blank">Cultural Awareness Foundation</a> (a Turkish NGO) in the successful nomination of Hasankeyf for the 7 Most Endangered programme run by Europa Nostra in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute and with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmYyWciIZ0lFaySwSLvR15sYtJkte0Uuf9zQgZgFs9LaIql45yKaNy4_Is4id1Tap3J5vxw-R9wXSZeCf2Nu9fVeAAZAppyl8RUwwn1jDCfYrBEdAnv6q5DPIJYjOhFzKu-1JcMpQmkD5/s1600/25804692626_499a13a56c_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="640" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFmYyWciIZ0lFaySwSLvR15sYtJkte0Uuf9zQgZgFs9LaIql45yKaNy4_Is4id1Tap3J5vxw-R9wXSZeCf2Nu9fVeAAZAppyl8RUwwn1jDCfYrBEdAnv6q5DPIJYjOhFzKu-1JcMpQmkD5/s320/25804692626_499a13a56c_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>About Hasankeyf </b><br />
Hasankeyf, sitting on the banks of the River Tigris, is one of the most important architectural and archaeological sites in Europe, boasting a rich biodiversity and 12,000 years of human history. Masterpieces of Islamic architecture, dating from the 12th to 15th centuries C.E., make the town one of the best preserved witnesses to Seljuk urban culture, particularly from the Artukid and Ayyubid dynasties.<br />
<br />
A small town with a great heritage, Hasankeyf already attracts about 500.000 visitors each year, a number expected to rise. Given its historical, architectural and economic significance for the region, public opinion supports its preservation. The area was declared a First Degree Archaeological Site by Turkey’s Supreme Board of Monuments in 1978 and has been under the protection of the Culture Ministry’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums since 1981.<br />
<br />
The urgent threat to Hasankeyf is posed by the Ilısu dam hydroelectric power project which, if implemented as planned, would submerge the site under 65 metres of water by 2018. The Government of Turkey has a vision for salvaging selected monuments and developing the site as a prestigious destination. However, Hasankeyf’s preservation in its original location might prove more economically advantageous than the dam, and its cultural significance for Turkey is incomparable.</div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-35449486098582567372017-06-28T16:27:00.000+03:002017-07-06T16:33:22.547+03:00Protest against Bresser at its Dutch headquarters: Withdraw from relocation of Hasankeyf monuments <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
+++ DEM-NED (Council of Communities from Kurdistan in Netherlands) +++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, Turkey +++ Hasankeyf Matters, Turkey +++ Mesopotamian Ecology Movement, Turkish-Kurdistan +++ Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign, Iraq +++ </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Humat Dijla, Iraq +++ Mountain Watch, Iran +++ BankTrack, NL ++++ CounterCurrent, Germany +++ The Corner House, UK +++</div>
<br />
<br />
Today, several dozen people from Dutch, German, Iraqi, Iranian, British and Turkish <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1810425285846643" target="_blank">civil-society organizations are protesting</a> at the headquarters of the Dutch company <a href="http://www.bresser.nu/overons.html" target="_blank">Bresser</a> in s-Gravendeel, near Rotterdam. Bresser, which specializes in the relocation of buildings and monuments, is currently moving historical monuments in Hasankeyf, located in the mainly Kurdish-populated South East of Turkey. The relocation is part of the highly controversial Ilısu dam project and we demand from Bresser to put an immediate stop to the relocation of the cultural sites.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvq3yKJYQ39j_h45c5S314_m3w50D3WVydaX2zpFFdn-NBTzTBMI7dvzKEXJvDX0-q_hQwc9fVb6jGaYE6WDevne29Cud2ZVZl7pzB6dRXzB3Sam5smfuzynvx8_YQixFBJDQBMgvGIlM/s1600/DSC_0013_20170319_Bresser_Cityscape+with+Zeynel+Bey+Tomb.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvq3yKJYQ39j_h45c5S314_m3w50D3WVydaX2zpFFdn-NBTzTBMI7dvzKEXJvDX0-q_hQwc9fVb6jGaYE6WDevne29Cud2ZVZl7pzB6dRXzB3Sam5smfuzynvx8_YQixFBJDQBMgvGIlM/s320/DSC_0013_20170319_Bresser_Cityscape+with+Zeynel+Bey+Tomb.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Hasankeyf is a 12,000-year-old settlement on the Tigris River with unique cultural and natural heritage, and is currently threatened by the construction of the Ilısu Dam. The mega-dam under construction would create, if completed and implemented as planned, a social, cultural and ecological disaster in the region, impacting not only Turkey but the Tigris basin in Iran and Iraq. The local population and Turkish as well as international environmental and human-rights groups vehemently reject the project, which will lead to serious human-rights violations. To make way for the dam, a small number of ancient monuments will be relocated outside the planned dam reservoir to a location close to the <a href="http://www.hasankeyf.gov.tr/web/yenihasankeyf/yukselproje.swf" target="_blank">new settlement of "New-Hasankeyf"</a>.<br />
<br />
Bresser’s involvement was central to the relocation of the 550-year-old and unique tomb of Zeynel Bey in May 2017. And now the Dutch company, together with the Turkish company <a href="http://www.erbuinsaat.com/en/" target="_blank">Er-Bu</a>, is planning the relocation of five further monuments, including the Middle Gate (to the castle), a mausoleum, a bath and a social complex. Works are planned to start in late summer 2017. In a later step, three other monuments (among them the famous El Rizk Mosque) are planned to be relocated. Their relocation would be an unforgivable act of cultural-heritage destruction and a violation of the human rights of the local people, and facilitate far-reaching and irreversible impacts along the Tigris basin.<br />
<br />
The protestors criticize the uncritical and persistent involvement of Bresser in this project, which is in violation of Turkish law and international conventions. The contracting of the project also took part in secret outside of public scrutiny. The relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb is an active violation of the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe (<a href="https://rm.coe.int/168007a087" target="_blank">CETS 121</a>) which both Turkey and the Netherlands have signed, and also an infringement of the <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/" target="_blank">Human Right to Cultural Heritage</a>. Bresser reacted to the coalition’s requests only after the campaign contacted the Dutch government. There was no effort to consult civil-society organizations or the local population impacted by the relocations. Bresser rejects all responsibility, whilst it is clear that without the company’s involvement, it would be almost impossible for the Turkish Er-Bu and the Turkish government to relocate the monuments. Due to the company’s failure to conduct due diligence on human-rights impacts, and the evident lack of respect for human right to culture, a number of civil-society organizations will soon lodge a complaint against Bresser for violation of the OECD <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/governance/oecd-guidelines-for-multinational-enterprises_9789264115415-en" target="_blank">Guidelines for multinational enterprises</a>. <br />
<br />
This protest is not the first and will not be the last call on the company to end its involvement. Already in December 2016, more than 20 Turkish and international organizations signed an <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2016/12/open-letter-stop-relocation-of-zeynel.html" target="_blank">open letter</a> calling on Bresser to stop the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb. <br />
<br />
It is not too late for Bresser to withdraw from the relocation process. If Bresser continues with the relocations, however, the company will be guilty of destroying the oldest cultural heritage in Mesopotamia and make way for a mega-dam that will destroy not only cultural sites but vital biodiversity in the region.<br />
<br />
Contact:<br />
Ercan Ayboga<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a><br />
E: hasankeyfgirisimi@gmail.com<br />
T: +49 1637577847</div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-12056287518145857442017-05-11T11:56:00.000+03:002017-05-11T12:21:45.551+03:00Regarding the arrest of photographer and the imminent removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
+++ Hasankeyf Matters +++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive +++ </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mesopotamian Ecology Movement +++</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Statement on Arrest of <i>National Geographic</i> Photographer Mathias Depardon and the Imminent Move of the Zeynel Bey Tomb</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAoSRnDGBlSHqWW1wYNRjHVSU3-R4i1I2OZnj7WNGndUzYAwLQ2nqf6__LPRKQIG0-iffN5K48y3CzOOW8T61aveLlT4RV4QSdUAkTyJQZPxbDuhMbvIVNL_MjetEuP9CS3XbcQjxVM0P/s1600/DSC_0022_Zeynel+Bey+w+human+scale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAoSRnDGBlSHqWW1wYNRjHVSU3-R4i1I2OZnj7WNGndUzYAwLQ2nqf6__LPRKQIG0-iffN5K48y3CzOOW8T61aveLlT4RV4QSdUAkTyJQZPxbDuhMbvIVNL_MjetEuP9CS3XbcQjxVM0P/s320/DSC_0022_Zeynel+Bey+w+human+scale.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Zeynel Bey Tomb, Hasankeyf, May 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
11 May 2017<br />
Yesterday local sources reported that the Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf, which has been encased in a concrete foundation, has now been lifted from its original foundation. According to local reports, the tomb will be moved tomorrow (Friday) without advance notification to the press. At the time of writing, the DSI (the State Hydraulic Works), which is responsible for the Ilisu Dam Project, has not announced the move on its web site.<br />
<br />
While the government claims that it is transmitting Hasankeyf’s cultural heritage to the future and transforming the town into an important tourism center for the region, they have shrouded their work in secrecy. During the decades of planning and preparation for the Ilisu project, the government has denied the local people a say in shaping the future of their town. Now the government is raising new barriers to the journalistic documentation of the changes underway in Hasankeyf. <br />
<br />
On Monday (May 8), Istanbul-based <i>National Geographic</i> photographer Mathias Depardon was detained while taking pictures in the new settlement area of Hasankeyf. According to news reports, after police reviewed Depardon’s social media accounts and discovered photographs shared three years ago, they arrested Depardon on suspicion of propaganda for a terrorist organization. Depardon now faces deportation, pending review of the matter by a court in Gaziantep. Depardon has visited Hasankeyf regularly for at least four years and has been working recently on a larger project for <i>National Geographic</i>.<br />
<br />
This incident sends a chilling message to any journalists or citizen observers seeking to document the historic changes taking place in Hasankeyf, which is set for flooding by the waters of the Ilisu Dam within two years. Security personnel in Hasankeyf have intermittently interfered with photographers who visited the new settlement area in Hasankeyf, and more recently, access to the Zeynel Bey Tomb has been restricted. <br />
<br />
The DSI has touted the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb as the first time a whole building has been moved to a new location in Turkey and they predict that this will attract worldwide attention. Considering the claim to transform Hasankeyf into an important tourism center for the region, the interference with the work of professional journalists to document this work and the failure to publicize the date for the actual relocation of the tomb show that Turkish authorities know that the these projects cannot withstand careful scrutiny.<br />
<br />
Indeed, the limited press coverage over the past four years shows that the project is fraught with problems. Experts considered different locations for the tomb – 1 km, 1.5 km and now 2 km from the original location – all without seeking the views of the town’s residents. For at least four years authorities have said the tomb would be moved along rails, but within recent months the plan suddenly changed and it was disclosed that the tomb would be moved on a trailer of some 150 wheels along a specially built road. Finally, authorities failed to disclose to the public the problems encountered when a test run using the new system was conducted two weeks ago. <br />
<br />
The public deserves to know and we demand that the DSI disclose why the method of relocation was changed at such a late date. We also seek full disclosure of the details of the revised plan and evidence that the revised plan has been approved in the proper way.<br />
<br />
The fact is that this project is fraught with problems – not just within the context of the controversial Ilisu Dam, which threatens the entire natural ecosystem of the Upper Tigris Basin with destruction, but also the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb. The sketchy and unstable plan threatens to destroy this invaluable manifestation of cultural heritage. The relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb to the new settlement area is an unforgivable and wanton act of cultural heritage destruction. This project and the whole Ilisu Project must be halted immediately. We need a new approach to building broad consensus around the socio-cultural development of Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley. <br />
<br />
We request also the immediate release of Mathias Depardon and the liberty for each journalist and human to move in and around Hasankeyf!<br />
<br />
John Crofoot, Hasankeyf Matters<br />
Ercan Ayboga, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive<br />
<br />
More information:<br />
www.hasankeyfmatters.com – hasankeyfmatters@gmail.com<br />
www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net – hasankeyfgirisimi@gmail.com<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
</div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-67004102003946892522017-05-04T19:21:00.000+03:002017-05-05T10:48:15.601+03:00Failed test run shows impossibility of relocation of Zeynel Bey Tomb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
+++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive +++ Hasankeyf Matters +++ Mesopotamian Ecology Movement +++ Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign +++ Humat Dijla, Baghdad +++</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Failed test run shows impossibility of relocation of Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf!</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Stop the relocation project!</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyCAiWGPoBB0NC40CEdYKMU2vF2k6n9p-tm_082jl4tHRu2alVz0nEV9mpHcun3uPjvdOnAb1L-WvX1o3OxLHnNf3k5Pd6w7maMR-IpXWi9M8zJcloqcOhrGQX2JIsfsffE8aX5KDpvvb/s1600/DSC_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZyCAiWGPoBB0NC40CEdYKMU2vF2k6n9p-tm_082jl4tHRu2alVz0nEV9mpHcun3uPjvdOnAb1L-WvX1o3OxLHnNf3k5Pd6w7maMR-IpXWi9M8zJcloqcOhrGQX2JIsfsffE8aX5KDpvvb/s320/DSC_0024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
4 May 2017<br />
<br />
<b>Open letter to:</b><br />
<br />
Mr. Taco Bresser<br />
Bresser Eurasia BV.<br />
Viltweg 1p, P.O. Box 5231<br />
3295 ZJ ’s-Gravendeel<br />
The Netherlands<br />
info@bresser.nu<br />
t.bresser@bresser.nu<br />
<br />
Mr. Ercan Tunç<br />
Mr. Burhan Çetin<br />
Er-Bu İnşaat<br />
Yıldızevler Mah. 730. Sok. No:10/6 <br />
Çankaya, Ankara<br />
Turkey<br />
Fax: +90 312 441 82 06 <br />
info@erbuinsaat.com<br />
rem_elektrik@hotmail.com.tr<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Taco Bresser<br />
Dear Mr. Ercan Tunç<br />
Dear Mr. Burhan Çetin<br />
<br />
The test conducted at the end of April 2017 for the planned relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf has failed. This failure demonstrates the severe threats with which the cultural heritage of Hasankeyf is faced due to the ongoing construction of the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant Project.<br />
<br />
We demand in the strongest possible terms that you cease work immediately and withdraw from the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb. We cite again the <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{"fulltext":["6080/06"],"itemid":["002-11251"]}" target="_blank">ongoing case in the European Court of Human Rights</a>, where Turkey's plan for cultural heritage conservation in Hasankeyf is disputed. <br />
<br />
It is unacceptable that adequate measures were not taken to ensure that the test would be successful in the first attempt. This situation is especially disturbing after repeated assertions (both public and private) that there is no risk in this project. <br />
<br />
Numerous inconsistencies and contradictions point to the fact that the planning for this project is flawed and that the risks of damage are higher than you have acknowledged:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>For years authorities have told the public that the tomb would be moved on rails, but within the last months the plan has changed and the tomb is to be moved by means of a trailer moving along a specially constructed road.</li>
<br />
<li>The timing of the move has been rushed, raising the likelihood of mistakes. The move was announced for 18 April, but asphalting did not begin until the following week.</li>
<br />
<li>The 2 km distance over which the tomb is to be moved is extraordinarily long, with a significant incline, and the goal to move the structure within a single day is highly risky.</li>
<br />
<li>Over the past two years, there have been conflicting statements about the new location of the tomb.</li>
<br />
<li>The encasement of the structure in concrete is a fundamentally destructive approach, as it changes the building significantly even while it stands on its original foundation.</li>
<br />
<li>The total weight moved during the test is 750 tons, but the weight of the tomb is estimated to be approximately 900 tons.</li>
<br />
<li>Rather than seeking to build trust with the public by sharing information and seeking the views and opinions of the local people, this project is shrouded in secrecy. There is not even a statement of work displayed at the site. The lack of transparency raises the risks of the project, as it precludes adequate vetting of the technical plans to ensure that all flaws and vulnerabilities have been addressed.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Individuals and civil society organizations all over the world express regularly their opposition to the planned flooding of Hasankeyf and the surrounding Tigris Valley. In order to raise the awareness about the risks of the planned relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb, Humat Dijla/Tigris Keepers Association in Baghdad has started a campaign in Iraq, which is also severely threatened by the Ilısu Project. <br />
<br />
The relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb would be an unforgivable act of cultural heritage destruction and a violation of the human rights of the local people. We hold your firms accountable for your part in the violation of Turkish law and the common international standards governing historic preservation and sustainable development. <br />
<br />
We demand the cancellation of the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb, the immediate stop of the Ilısu Project and a broad discussion among all stakeholders to establish a consensus for socio-cultural development in the region.<br />
<br />
Ercan Ayboğa<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a>, Hasankeyf/Batman and Mesopotamian Ecology Movement, Diyarbakır<br />
<br />
John Crofoot <br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a>, Istanbul/Hasankeyf<br />
<br />
Ali Alkharki<br />
Humat Dijla, Baghdad<br />
<br />
Toon Bijnens<br />
<a href="http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/" target="_blank">Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative</a>, Sulaymaniyah<br />
<br />
Ali Al-Kharki<br />
Humat Dijla/Tigris Keepers Association, Baghdad<br />
<br />
Ismaeel Dawood<br />
<a href="http://www.unponteper.it/en/" target="_blank">Un Ponte Per . . .</a>, Pisa<br />
<br />
Contact<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net</a><br />
email: <a href="mailto:hasankeyfgirisimi@gmail.com" target="_blank">hasankeyfgirisimi@gmail.com</a><br />
<br /></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-5782315713976035602017-03-10T06:38:00.000+03:002017-05-05T10:48:30.748+03:00Halt Removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb - Second Open Letter to Bresser Eurasia and Er-Bu İnşaat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
9 March 2017<br />
<br />
<b>Open letter to</b>:<br />
<br />
Mr. Taco Bresser<br />
Bresser Eurasia BV.<br />
Viltweg 1p, P.O. Box 5231<br />
3295 ZJ ’s-Gravendeel<br />
The Netherlands<br />
info@bresser.nu<br />
<br />
Mr. Ercan Tunç<br />
Mr. Burhan Çetin<br />
Er-Bu İnşaat<br />
Yıldızevler Mah. 730. Sok. No:10/6 <br />
Çankaya, Ankara<br />
Turkey<br />
Fax: +90 312 441 82 06 <br />
info@erbuinsaat.com<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Second Request to Withdraw From the Relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>in Hasankeyf, Turkey</b></div>
<br />
Dear Mr. Taco Bresser<br />
Dear Mr. Ercan Tunç<br />
Dear Mr. Burhan Çetin<br />
<br />
We, the undersigned, representatives of organisations that collectively have been striving for nearly two decades to save the ancient city of Hasankeyf and the natural ecosystem of the Upper Tigris Basin, are writing to reiterate our previous requests, <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?p=403&lang=tr" target="_blank">one of which</a> was addressed to Er-Bu İnşaat and dated 31 October 2016, and <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?p=410&lang=tr" target="_blank">another</a> to Bresser Eurasia, dated 5 December 2016. We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Cease immediately all work related to the removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb until the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issues a decision in the related case (Application number <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22fulltext%22:[%226080/06%22],%22itemid%22:[%22002-11251%22]}" target="_blank">6080/06</a>), which disputes the viability of Turkey’s plan for the removal of select monuments, including the Zeynel Bey Tomb.</li>
<br />
<li>Provide to the public examples of previous work demonstrating the feasibility of the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb. Ideally, these examples should be similar to the current project in terms of historical significance, structural complexity and operational risk. Local people have raised questions about the criteria used in awarding the contracts for this project, particularly as Turkey’s State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) failed to attract proposals during three publicly announced bidding cycles in 2014 and 2015.</li>
<br />
<li>Provide to the public a detailed explanation of the operational risks you have identified for the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb and the measures you are taking to mitigate these risks. There is a broadly held assumption among the public that this move poses significant risk of damage to or destruction of the monument. These concerns are reasonable, considering the monument’s extraordinary significance, its composite structure and fragile condition and the exceptionally long distance and incline of this relocation effort.</li>
</ol>
The failure of the DSİ to inform and consult the public in the planning and execution process for this project violates the right of the local population to participate in the cultural life of the community, as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, your firms are carrying out this highly controversial and legally disputed project while Turkey is under a State of Emergency and the district of Hasankeyf has been declared a security zone, both of which severely restrict the freedom of the press and the right of citizens to protest. <br />
<br />
Local sensitivities to this dynamic are informed by current hostilities between Turkey and Kurdish separatists, which are part of an armed conflict that has continued for more than three decades. Local memory is long in Upper Mesopotamia, and local people trace these patterns of central authority abuse of local autonomy as far back as the Ottoman conquest of Upper Mesopotamia in the early 16th century.<br />
<br />
The tomb, an elegant synthesis of Turkic and Aryan elements, is of incomparable historic and artistic importance. Not only does it reflect today the pride and dignity that local people associate with their region’s unique identity, but it also stands as an example of and call to peaceful cross-cultural cooperation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXmALssgK2nJrwwt2wk6PxMZwwhZ1p1Ue9t-JZdDCQl6XI1f0Po3_DJIQevWcNow8MsL9pIxfW8zHsnetTHFp0NshwnDAZgUNURr8LUTDbTEk9Y9qbSoXR2bpdlmxxppjKGoHRUZB9wsV/s1600/DSC_0092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXmALssgK2nJrwwt2wk6PxMZwwhZ1p1Ue9t-JZdDCQl6XI1f0Po3_DJIQevWcNow8MsL9pIxfW8zHsnetTHFp0NshwnDAZgUNURr8LUTDbTEk9Y9qbSoXR2bpdlmxxppjKGoHRUZB9wsV/s320/DSC_0092.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
In its original location, the visual appeal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb depends largely on its careful placement so that it reflects the shapes and colours of the surrounding mountains. Furthermore, its spatial relationship with other monuments – in particular the bridge, the minarets of the lower city and the Citadel mount – lend depth and perspective to the medieval cityscape. What is more, the geometric lines linking these monuments, which represent Roman, Byzantine, Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Persian, Muslim, Christian and other traditions, create an engaging physical environment for exploring the urban history of Upper Mesopotamia.<br />
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<br />
The removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb to a site where it will be dwarfed by modern buildings will destroy its majesty and diminish its significance. This will be a tragic loss and an unforgivable act of wanton cultural heritage destruction. Your work in Hasankeyf marks the beginning of the destruction of this 12.000-year-old city and the rich biological ecosystem of the entire Tigris River Basin. (Please note that the adverse impacts of the Ilısu Project threaten the viability of the Iraqi Marshlands, recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.) Unfortunately, these acts of destruction targeting evidence of cultural difference have become all too common a feature of the hostile conflicts plaguing the world today, particularly in Western Asia and North Africa. Your firms’ involvement in this trend clearly contravenes international standards for corporate responsibility in the context of sustainable development. <br />
<br />
Specifically, by supplying the technology and skills required to complete this critical first step in the removal of select examples of Hasankeyf’s cultural heritage, Bresser Eurasia and Er-Bu are contributing substantially to the adverse human rights impacts of the larger Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) Project, including but not limited to:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Denying people the right to participate in the cultural life of the community</li>
<li>Population displacement likely to result in increased poverty and emigration, both internal and external</li>
<li>The loss of largely undocumented intangible heritage, e.g., oral histories, local knowledge of flora and fauna, etc.</li>
<li>Loss of biodiversity</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/oecdguidelinesformultinationalenterprises.htm" target="_blank">OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises</a> urge companies to take steps to prevent adverse human rights impacts arising from projects within the context of their supply chains. Your firms’ contributions to the Ilısu Project also fall short of the <a href="http://api.commissiemer.nl/docs/os/i71/i7199/7199_advice_on_better_decision-making_about_large_dams.pdf" target="_blank">standards of corporate responsibility</a> set forth by the Sustainability Unit of The Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment.<br />
<br />
If left in its original location, the Zeynel Bey Tomb could help to make Hasankeyf and its surroundings one of the most compelling destinations for culture and adventure tourism in Anatolia. As demonstrated in <a href="http://blogs.encatc.org/culturalheritagecountsforeurope/outcomes/" target="_blank"><i>Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe</i></a>, a meta-study published by a consortium led by <a href="http://europanostra.org/" target="_blank">Europa Nostra</a>, proper management of cultural heritage sites is a cost-effective way to achieve significant economic gains, including jobs for local people and tax revenue. If spared flooding, Hasankeyf could help Turkey broaden and diversify its tourism sector, which in recent years has accounted directly for 4 per cent of GDP and 20 per cent of the country’s exports.<br />
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We understand that your schedule is very busy and that this is short notice. However, given the urgency and gravity of this matter, we respectfully request an opportunity to discuss these demands with you within the next weeks, no later than 22 March. <br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Ercan Ayboğa, <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a><br />
Öner Öztürk, Batman Ecological Council<br />
John Crofoot, <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">Hasankeyf Matters</a><br />
Toon Bijnens, <a href="http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/" target="_blank">Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative</a><br />
Ali Al-Kharki, President, Humat Dijlah/Tigris Keepers Association<br />
Ismaeel Dawood, <a href="http://www.unponteper.it/en/" target="_blank">Un Ponte Per . . . </a><br />
Ulrich Eichelmann, <a href="http://riverwatch.eu/en/" target="_blank">RiverWatch</a><br />
Nicholas Hildyard, <a href="http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Corner House</a><br />
Jonas Holmqvist, <a href="http://fivas.org/" target="_blank">FIVAS - Association of International Water Studies</a><br />
Annelies Broekman, <a href="http://www.xnca.org/" target="_blank">Catalan Network for a New Water Culture</a><br />
Heike Drillisch, GegenStroemung - <a href="http://www.gegenstroemung.org/web/" target="_blank">CounterCurrent</a><br />
Estella Schmid, <a href="https://peaceinkurdistancampaign.com/" target="_blank">Peace in Kurdistan Campaign</a><br />
Wiert Wiertsema, <a href="http://www.bothends.org/en/" target="_blank">Both ENDS</a><br />
<br />
<br />
+++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive (Turkey) +++ Mesopotamian Ecology Movement (Turkey) +++ Hasankeyf Matters (Turkey) +++ Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign (Iraq) +++ Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (Iraq) +++ Humat Dijlah/Tigris Keepers Association +++ Movement for the Protection of Aracthos River (Greece) +++ Ecological Collective of Irakleio (Greece) +++ Friends of the Earth (Greece) +++ Cultural Center of Kurdistan (Athens, Greece) +++ Network for Social Ecology (Greece) +++ FIVAS - Association of International Water Studies (Norway) +++ Both ENDS (Netherlands) +++ The Corner House (UK) +++ Peace in Kurdistan Campaign (UK) +++ Counter Current (Germany) +++ Ekologistak Martxan (Basque Country) +++ BBVAren aurkako Plataforma (Basque Country) +++ Xarxa per una Nova Culutra del’Aigua (Catalonia) +++ Ecologistas en Acción Spain +++ Un Ponte Per . . . (Italy) +++ River Watch (Austria) +++ International Rivers (USA) +++ <br />
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-37324797625435999832017-02-24T04:46:00.000+03:002017-03-10T16:55:06.936+03:00The imminent displacement of the Zeynel Bey Tomb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://bresser-eurasia.com/" target="_blank">Bresser Eurasia</a> (a subsidiary of the Dutch firm <a href="http://www.bresser.nu/contact.html" target="_blank">Bresser</a>) and <a href="http://www.erbuinsaat.com/" target="_blank">Er-Bu Inşaat</a> (a Turkish firm) are rapidly preparing to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb from its centuries-old location along the banks of the Tigris River in Hasankeyf. The partnership between the two companies was signed during a Dutch trade mission to Turkey in December 2015, "<a href="http://docplayer.biz.tr/8315717-2-4-december-2015-netherlands-economic-mission-to-turkey-turkey-and-the-netherlands-partners-in-sustainable-development.html" target="_blank">Turkey and the Netherlands: Partners in Sustainable Development</a>."<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF1WmJ_9PjRytOQIKRLixGnEwrjtCDGAoyHZbCzBhukiZiWnixG3cAEnSkP_0OSfHT2MeMGLkpBeTmHyVRt9cP7k67LKs1-aOTcqEO5CyG-93q-JZJKA9pJOANkmUzEtZXy5_dGMDan_n/s1600/DSC_0003_20170205_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb+Preparation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWF1WmJ_9PjRytOQIKRLixGnEwrjtCDGAoyHZbCzBhukiZiWnixG3cAEnSkP_0OSfHT2MeMGLkpBeTmHyVRt9cP7k67LKs1-aOTcqEO5CyG-93q-JZJKA9pJOANkmUzEtZXy5_dGMDan_n/s320/DSC_0003_20170205_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb+Preparation.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The concrete platform holding the tomb will be lifted onto a trailer</td></tr>
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Most work at the site of the tomb has now been finished, including the insertion of beams through the base of the structure and the pouring of a concrete foundation around the base of the tomb. This new foundation holds vertical pipes, which form part of the hydraulic system for lifting the structure. The tomb will lifted onto a trailer and <a href="http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/650-yillik-turbe-tasiniyor-40345619" target="_blank">moved two kilometers in eight hours</a>. Work on the foundation at the new location is nearing completion.<br />
<br />
The special road being built for the removal operation is also fast approaching completion, and the transfer may be completed within <a href="http://www.batmancagdas.com/gundem/2018de-yeni-hasankeyfe-h48894.html" target="_blank">a matter of weeks</a>. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5w3af1QjoTQ12ylPD3Hl39B6enYDpV1m5T47kkuNYLlaE2zcV5Ye1xJgIrt9D-TIGrnV75vywPnEMETb4N9nETkTGiI_gZ_kkUCSASI1LEyPmf-lQwfqADLNjs8n2NsAeNN65iPmkeuRP/s1600/DSC_0098_20130531_Looking+toward+New+Location+for+Zeynel+Bey.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5w3af1QjoTQ12ylPD3Hl39B6enYDpV1m5T47kkuNYLlaE2zcV5Ye1xJgIrt9D-TIGrnV75vywPnEMETb4N9nETkTGiI_gZ_kkUCSASI1LEyPmf-lQwfqADLNjs8n2NsAeNN65iPmkeuRP/s320/DSC_0098_20130531_Looking+toward+New+Location+for+Zeynel+Bey.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modern buildings near the new site for the Zeynel Bey Tomb</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />
<b>Locals concerned about project risks</b><br />
<br />
Local people in Hasankeyf have expressed concern about the tomb’s condition and the risk of the relocation operation. Earlier this month, the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?lang=tr" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> issued a <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?p=422&lang=tr" target="_blank">statement</a> emphasizing its concern about the risks of the project and criticizing the failure to consult the public about the relocation plans.<br />
<br />
Last year, Hasankeyf mayor Abdulvahap Kusen from Turkey's ruling AK Party told reporters, "<a href="http://www.batmancagdas.com/gundem/turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html" target="_blank">If we break it [the Zeynel Bey Tomb], the symbol of our historic town, we will be disgraced before the world</a>."<br />
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com=""><br />
High-level government officials have also noted the extremely fragile condition of the tomb. In a 2012 <a href="http://www2.ormansu.gov.tr/osb/haberduyuru/guncelhaber/12-05-10/Orman_ve_Su_%C4%B0%C5%9Fleri_Bakan%C4%B1_Prof_Dr_Veysel_Ero%C4%9Flu_Anadolu_Ajans%C4%B1_Edit%C3%B6r_Masas%C4%B1%E2%80%99na_Konuk_Oldu.aspx?sflang=tr" target="_blank">press release</a> on the DSİ (</http:>General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works) website, Minister of Forestry and Water Veysel Eroğlu referred to the delicate condition of the tomb, saying, "If we throw a stone at the Zeynel Bey Tomb, it will collapse."<br />
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com=""><br />
As the only example of Timurid-style architecture in Anatolia, the Zeynel Bey Tomb is a visually compelling monument to long centuries of cross-cultural interaction between Turkic and Aryan civilizations in Upper Mesopotamia.</http:><br />
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com=""><br /></http:>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleZUNow3brcFlEIGQM4lCPakFFMnt04MCQCSuc_UmhfRA56CQyWZggEkjJB32iaLCnFPwbzavNBckJrFj2MM9hjkGoTpVaMWOcK2EmYa2lPrtS-qn77adVtklTtk3QmP97LZIV5JVjWMj/s1600/DSC_0022_Zeynel+Bey+w+human+scale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjleZUNow3brcFlEIGQM4lCPakFFMnt04MCQCSuc_UmhfRA56CQyWZggEkjJB32iaLCnFPwbzavNBckJrFj2MM9hjkGoTpVaMWOcK2EmYa2lPrtS-qn77adVtklTtk3QmP97LZIV5JVjWMj/s320/DSC_0022_Zeynel+Bey+w+human+scale.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Zeynel Bey Tomb in its original landscape</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com=""><br />
Its removal to a site where it will be dwarfed by modern buildings, including an oversized adaptation of Anatolian Seljuk tombs (typical of the Anatolian Plateau but quite rare in Upper Mesopotamia) will severely diminish its majesty and significance. </http:><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LyBUtNY02Z0cac72wWYA9hiUaw0hC0bkwAqyJLEORKS3bStKNOFWFRoMbdAdVr-JnKN436cBXakzQC1TRa6nSZZ82AQGDSN-eQB1imgU57kfDsMbKkGrKXVct0VmZ8u2moRdYmsCFGij/s1600/DSC_0058_20150531_Near+New+Location+for+Zeynel+Bey.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LyBUtNY02Z0cac72wWYA9hiUaw0hC0bkwAqyJLEORKS3bStKNOFWFRoMbdAdVr-JnKN436cBXakzQC1TRa6nSZZ82AQGDSN-eQB1imgU57kfDsMbKkGrKXVct0VmZ8u2moRdYmsCFGij/s320/DSC_0058_20150531_Near+New+Location+for+Zeynel+Bey.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This adapted reconstruction of a traditional Rum Seljuk tomb<br />
will overshadow the Zeynel Bey Tomb at its new location</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com=""><br /></http:>
<http: gundem="" turbe-elimizde-kalirsa-dunyaya-rezil-oluruz-h42568.html="" www.batmancagdas.com="">In a 2006 <a href="http://m-h-s.org/ilisu/upload/PDF/Analysen/Comment_Ilisu_ZeynepAhunbay_Hkeyf_CultHeritage_engl.pdf" target="_blank">comment</a> criticizing the government's plans for the open-air museum where pieces of eight historic buildings from Hasankeyf (including the Zeynel Bey Tomb) are to be displayed, Professor Zeynep Ahunbay, the lead plaintiff in a case currently before the <a href="http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22fulltext%22:[%226080/06%22],%22itemid%22:[%22002-11251%22]}" target="_blank">European Court of Human Rights</a>, said, "This destructive transfer operation can not be accepted as an act of preservation or salvage; it will create a sad caricature (!) of the real thing."</http:></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-42607540074079162042016-12-07T21:06:00.000+03:002017-03-10T16:55:06.940+03:00Open Letter: Stop the Relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Representatives of more than 20 Turkish and international organizations have signed an open letter to <a href="http://bresser-eurasia.com/" target="_blank">Bresser Eurasia</a> (a subsidiary of the Dutch engineering firm <a href="http://www.bresser.nu/overons.html" target="_blank">Bresser</a>) and <a href="http://korres-engineering.com/" target="_blank">Korres Engineering</a> (in Greece) requesting that they withdraw from the project to relocate the Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf, saying in part: "To remove this monument from the alluvial plain to a slope where it will stand close to modern structures and a selection of architectural reconstructions is to rob the region of one of its most distinctive and
beloved historic buildings."
<br />
<br />
The full text of the letter follows below.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<i>+++ Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, Turkey +++ Mesopotamian Ecology Movement, Turkey +++ Hasankeyf Matters, Turkey +++ Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign, Iraq +++ Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, Iraq +++ Movement for the Protection of Aracthos River, Greece +++ Ecological collective of Irakleio, Greece +++ Friends of the Earth, Greece +++ Cultural Center of Kurdistan, Athens/Greece +++ Network for Social Ecology, Greece +++ Both Ends, Netherlands +++ The Corner House, UK +++ Peace in Kurdistan Campaign, UK +++ Counter Current, Germany +++ Ekologistak Martxan, Basque Country +++ BBVAren aurkako Plataforma, Basque Country +++ Xarxa per una Nova Culutra del’Aigua, Catalonia +++ Ecologistas en Acción Spain +++ Un Ponte Per, Italy +++ Rivers Watch, Austria +++ International Rivers, USA +++</i><br />
<br />
Open letter to:<br />
1) Bresser Eurasia BV. <br />
Viltweg 1p, P.O. Box 5231, 3295 ZJ’s-Gravendeel, The Netherlands<br />
<br />
2) Korres Engineering<br />
9 Varnali Str., Melissia 151 27, Athens, Greece<br />
<br />
Request to withdraw from the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb in Hasankeyf/Turkey<br />
<br />
05.12.2016<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Taco Bresser, Bresser Eurasia,<br />
Dear Mr. Dimitri Korres, Korres Engineering,<br />
<br />
As representatives of civil society organisations working to save Hasankeyf, an ancient city in the predominantly Kurdish southeast of Turkey, we write to urge you to withdraw from the project to relocate the Tomb of Zeynel Bey.<br />
<br />
From recent communication with Korres Engineering we understand that your companies are jointly providing the technical expertise and capability required to the Turkish company “Er-Bu” for the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb, with Korres Engineering contributing to the planning and Bresser Eurasia in charge of the physical lifting and transporting of the monument. We invite you to meet with us to discuss further the concerns outlined below.<br />
<br />
The Zeynel Bey Tomb, built nearly 600 years ago in the late-15th century, is a cultural heritage property of the utmost importance. Removal from its original location would be a tragic loss for all humanity. It would also be the first step in the destruction of Hasankeyf and of the ecosystem of the Tigris Valley, both threatened by the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) Project.<br />
<br />
Your firms’ assistance in the relocation of the Zeynel Bey Tomb provides critical support to the Ilısu Project, one of the most controversial dam projects in the world and the subject of extensive domestic and international criticism. In June 2009 the Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) of Germany, Switzerland and Austria pulled out of the Ilısu Project – followed by European Banks and most of the companies – due to the extreme impact on cultural heritage, environment and local population. This decision of the ECAs was taken after 2 years of intensive research and discussions. The historical significance of Hasankeyf, especially the city’s extraordinary collection of medieval Islamic monuments, played a crucial role in this decision.<br />
<br />
If implemented as planned, the Ilisu HEPP Project would flood a 136 km stretch of the Tigris Valley, severely affecting approximately 55,000 people and <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2012/02/unknown-nature-of-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">compromising the habitat of thousands of species</a>, including numerous threatened endemic bird, fish and amphibian species. The area to be flooded includes at least 289 archaeological sites, 199 villages and the ancient city of Hasankeyf. In March 2016, <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2016/03/hasankeyf-selected-by-europa-nostra-for.html" target="_blank">Europa Nostra included Hasankeyf in its 7 Most Endangered programme</a>, describing it as “one of the most important architectural and archaeological sites in Europe”.<br />
<br />
The Zeynel Bey Tomb is particularly important, not least because it is the most widely recognized symbol for the entire region. Reflecting strong Persian and Central Asian influences, the tomb is a poignant memorial to the rivalry between the Ottomans and the Akkoyunlu, a Turkmen Tribal Confederation that preceded the Safavids in ruling Iran. As the only Timurid-style monument in Anatolia, it expresses the overlap between Anatolian and Iranian civilization in Upper Mesopotamia.<br />
<br />
We recognize that your firms’ shared values in historical preservation and your expertise in structure relocation may bring you to this project in an attempt to salvage the monument for posterity. However, we are concerned that the project may very likely result in grave and irreparable damage. The beauty of the tomb depends largely on the visual interplay of its shape and colour with the cliffs and peaks of the surrounding landscape. To remove this monument from the alluvial plain to a slope where it will stand close to modern structures and a selection of architectural reconstructions is to rob the region of one of its most distinctive and beloved historic buildings. As the value of Hasankeyf’s immovable cultural heritage is inseparable from the well-preserved medieval urban landscape, a small collection of salvaged elements would have little significance outside their original context.<br />
<br />
There are also legal questions about the bidding process by which the lead contractor, Er-Bu Insaat, was selected. In addition, the project has failed to obtain the approval of the regional chambers of architects and engineers (TMMOB), which is a legal precondition of the project. We also believe that this failure to consult the public on the decision to move the tomb, the selection of its new location and the vetting and validation of the technical plan for moving the structure contravenes Turkish and European laws and conventions.<br />
<br />
We note as well that, in the event that Hasankeyf is spared flooding, this invaluable cultural landscape has the potential to become a regional centre of <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2013/02/its-all-here-trails-water-and.html" target="_blank">cultural and adventure tourism</a>. This alternative would create thousands of jobs over the long-term, whereas the Ilısu Project promises only 150 jobs over the long-term. This is why there is such overwhelming opposition in the affected region to pursuing such a destructive project.<br />
<br />
The case of the Zeynel Bey Tomb is different from that of Abu Simbel. Indeed, removal of the Zeynel Bey Tomb would be comparable to the destruction of the Bamiyan statues, Palmyra and the Mostar Bridge. To continue your involvement in this project, would, in our view, leave Bresser Eurasia and Korres Engineering open to the charge of being party to the destruction of a monument with outstanding cultural value, with consequent reputational risks. We therefore very much hope that you will withdraw.<br />
<br />
As stated above, we would very much welcome a meeting to discuss our concerns further.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Ercan Ayboğa, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive and Mesopotamian Ecology Movement<br />
John Crofoot, Hasankeyf Matters<br />
Ali Al-Kharki, Iraqi Coordinator of the Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign<br />
Toon Bijnens, Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative<br />
Nicholas Hildyard, Co-Director, The Corner House<br />
Estella Schmid, Peace in Kurdistan Campaign<br />
Heike Drillisch, Counter Current<br />
Peter Bosshard, International Rivers<br />
Ulrich Eichelmann, Riverwatch<br />
Annelies Broekman, Xarxa per una Nova Cultura de l’Aigua<br />
Ismaeel Dawood, Un Ponte Per<br />
Wiert Wiertsema, Senior Policy Adviser, Both ENDS<br />
<br />
Further information:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net</a> (regional initiative against the Ilısu Project)<br />
<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">www.hasankeyfmatters.com</a> (group working on the cultural heritage in Hasankeyf)<br />
<a href="http://www.savethetigris.org/" target="_blank">www.savethetigris.org</a> (Save the Tigris and Iraqi Marshes Campaign)<br />
<a href="http://www.stopilisu.com/" target="_blank">www.stopilisu.com</a> (former campaign against the European involvement)<br />
<br /></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-40334332310302613492016-07-15T13:25:00.000+03:002016-07-15T15:46:13.107+03:00The Sâlihiyya Gardens of Hasankeyf <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Sâlihiyya Gardens are located to the east of the medieval ceramic kilns and the walls of Hasankeyf’s lower city. Here you will find fragments of villas, mosques and madrasahs among small garden plots where local Hasankeyf residents still cultivate fruits and vegetables. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XBYWbwaT_7YPHn2V45vLOXMqxCkNPi_SZIBYPHGNlJ88Y1uqNz3Q2jwlvmqs1WQyxTIGf7_feHOlPe25ksCgdgwnJV_BVy8i6OA3QB4mErL3r9FElGvqH1LnupUP2CS7YWqK1fRV9ea8/s1600/DSC_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XBYWbwaT_7YPHn2V45vLOXMqxCkNPi_SZIBYPHGNlJ88Y1uqNz3Q2jwlvmqs1WQyxTIGf7_feHOlPe25ksCgdgwnJV_BVy8i6OA3QB4mErL3r9FElGvqH1LnupUP2CS7YWqK1fRV9ea8/s320/DSC_0093.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes,<br />
pomegranates, and <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">figs are just </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">some of the </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">products of Hasankeyf's </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">several gardens.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In its location and distinctly “suburban” atmosphere, the Sâlihiyya district of Hasankeyf recalls the City of the Dead in Cairo (where the wealthy retreated to family mausoleums for holidays and in summer), the Salahiyya district of tombs and dervish lodges on the edge of Damascus, and the cemeteries and gardens on either side of the defense walls of Istanbul. Whereas modern urban sprawl has engulfed and dwarfed the old fields and gardens in most cities of the region, in Hasankeyf the proportions of the Sâlihiyya district, lower city and citadel are much closer to what they would have been 900 years ago, when the Sokmen branch of the Artukids made its capital here.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXcUf0G09xSx8PpN1Lij0iOMbOq_40pWwe9lScFrL9I8AOnUlH2mzoNdkMqyQSidKrlPeDVgKAGZhEcrA2Qw38fnIz-wQaMyzhDBG3TBAPhCdSnas4m2sUnsUs8WkUOyVyUWI80WR9Wy9/s1600/DSC_0015_Baba+Haydar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXcUf0G09xSx8PpN1Lij0iOMbOq_40pWwe9lScFrL9I8AOnUlH2mzoNdkMqyQSidKrlPeDVgKAGZhEcrA2Qw38fnIz-wQaMyzhDBG3TBAPhCdSnas4m2sUnsUs8WkUOyVyUWI80WR9Wy9/s320/DSC_0015_Baba+Haydar.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Haydar Baba funeral complex is o</span>ne of the<br />
better-preserved sites in the Sâlihiyya Gardens<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The gardens of Hasankeyf hold traces of residential architecture, including the <i>eyvan</i> and pool of the “Artukid villa.” The eyvan is a distinctive architectural form, typically described as vaulted porch or veranda with “walls on three sides and completely open on the fourth.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaBjor3eLBRp7Tevz5YdFHTAaB5tHppGu_-X3sWxwnJzDoLp3eUoTW840u1pOIPpee0YWjaUyM1on1tpAGVn0ch_7CyHk1MlsE8r1AlTUsFw4bJPoVMsStmtzYR3AjaTOXV1pfz1D4N4Q/s1600/DSC_0024_20140516_HK+Ingathering_Artuklu+Ko%25CC%2588s%25CC%25A7ku%25CC%2588_large+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidaBjor3eLBRp7Tevz5YdFHTAaB5tHppGu_-X3sWxwnJzDoLp3eUoTW840u1pOIPpee0YWjaUyM1on1tpAGVn0ch_7CyHk1MlsE8r1AlTUsFw4bJPoVMsStmtzYR3AjaTOXV1pfz1D4N4Q/s320/DSC_0024_20140516_HK+Ingathering_Artuklu+Ko%25CC%2588s%25CC%25A7ku%25CC%2588_large+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eyvan</i> and pool of the "Artuklu villa" in the Sâlihiyya Gardens</td></tr>
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Ibn al-Munshi’, who wrote a historical chronicle of Hasankeyf in the early 15th century, writes that Sultan al-Malik al-Adil spent the summer of 1348 at the “Sâlihiyya Pavilion,” where he “enjoyed the pleasures of youth,” sitting most mornings “at the <i>eyvan</i> with his deputies and commanders attending to the affairs of the people and the business of government” and “summoning court entertainers” and his princely guests in the afternoons.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghudzcqLgb2ApvBDNS9Qx2rS0kw__3kFNjsvgi1q0fHJLeXVECUyFoWKCO8mF4jmHhD7VSXrpNfHEsSz-Ox1lnQXJMCLKNM_qorlf4FNEVsTDAmhu0sMlVnx0k0qr_i1GIW7ca4NGHoUef/s1600/DSC_0114_20140412_Kasimiyya_Eyvan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghudzcqLgb2ApvBDNS9Qx2rS0kw__3kFNjsvgi1q0fHJLeXVECUyFoWKCO8mF4jmHhD7VSXrpNfHEsSz-Ox1lnQXJMCLKNM_qorlf4FNEVsTDAmhu0sMlVnx0k0qr_i1GIW7ca4NGHoUef/s320/DSC_0114_20140412_Kasimiyya_Eyvan.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The remains of an <i>eyvan</i> and pool in the Kasimiyye<br />
district of Hasankeyf (east of the Sâlihiya Gardens)<i>. </i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The sultan’s guests would likely have gathered in various chambers of the pavilion or in the courtyard, those of the highest status taking in the scene from the shade of <i>eyvan</i>. Following Artukid tradition, the innermost wall of the <i>eyvan</i> would have been ornamented with a fountain from which water emptied into a shallow channel in the floor of the <i>eyvan</i>, cooling the air as it flowed to the pool in the courtyard.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwy_HtshDIcjs8ugQpZzmfyYTvmiQgjxLCLct42jleWCDP_wd8OukTu83ygKIGAixBEfLznU0SrY6znf12CoyWe-L36fOqPDwk27qH4JT3iXN350lrb0r39UHnptFSo8nILKwvHssLom2o/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwy_HtshDIcjs8ugQpZzmfyYTvmiQgjxLCLct42jleWCDP_wd8OukTu83ygKIGAixBEfLznU0SrY6znf12CoyWe-L36fOqPDwk27qH4JT3iXN350lrb0r39UHnptFSo8nILKwvHssLom2o/s320/DSC_0012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kasimiyya Madrasah in Mardin offers a fine intact <br />
example of the <i>eyvan</i> and pool combination.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Garden districts were an integral part of medieval cities in Seljuk lands and across the Islamic world. The gardens of Merum, which stood outside the city walls of Konya, were “famed in Seljuk and Ottoman times for their lushness and beauty.”<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>*</sup></span> Unfortunately, most of these gardens have disappeared, and scholars must rely on textual sources – poetry, epic, travel narrative and scientific treatises – to understand garden complexes as an alternative space for conducting business and entertaining guests. Further archaeological excavation at the Sâlihiyya Gardens has the potential to strengthen significantly scholarship on the history of medieval landscape design and the social uses of gardens. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HasankeyftoUNESCO&src=typd" target="_blank">#HasankeyftoUNESCO</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYcdSUBYZ2DI7FEgXHiCtiCeVdra68XOefK8fc5pERzzIrHUoPhvUcX3U3ymvmrIgpRyPyw7maBnAfigTF1i2yL6eceP44H0UNWnA2zES75TCpcRFBdl4QuQNPUpbh0dVKeD0vuPQM1CJ/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYcdSUBYZ2DI7FEgXHiCtiCeVdra68XOefK8fc5pERzzIrHUoPhvUcX3U3ymvmrIgpRyPyw7maBnAfigTF1i2yL6eceP44H0UNWnA2zES75TCpcRFBdl4QuQNPUpbh0dVKeD0vuPQM1CJ/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emin, who works in his garden each morning, <br />
is always generous in sharing his expertise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>*</sup></span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Scott Redford, <i>Landscape and the State in Medieval Anatolia: Seljuk Gardens and Pavilions of Alanya, Turkey</i>. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2000, p. 62.</span><br />
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-70595289450227585152016-07-11T00:57:00.002+03:002016-07-13T11:26:05.204+03:00What will you do for Hasankeyf?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With a history reaching back 11,500 years, the cultural heritage of Hasankeyf is a vital resource for building peace. Unfortunately, the site is under threat of flooding by the controversial and massive Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant (HEPP) project. Inscription of Hasankeyf and its environs as a <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/" target="_blank">UNESCO World Heritage</a> site, along with other conservation measures, can ensure that Hasankeyf lives. We ask for your support in advocating for these protections.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8iMOSyaDlJJ_QFLwfksmzrAFN81H4lhFmg3pSkUkOaTtxe8XkCiASbXqiy-6kaVV9OnpBji8nfX4jhToO7EQFdN2y2A6JMqVMc-EhxRbs5o9OZfskVYVriqkcYsqPsoaGCrUDhiSzf6i/s1600/Figure+1_Hasankeyf+citadel+and+lower+city_Hasankeyf+Matters.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8iMOSyaDlJJ_QFLwfksmzrAFN81H4lhFmg3pSkUkOaTtxe8XkCiASbXqiy-6kaVV9OnpBji8nfX4jhToO7EQFdN2y2A6JMqVMc-EhxRbs5o9OZfskVYVriqkcYsqPsoaGCrUDhiSzf6i/s320/Figure+1_Hasankeyf+citadel+and+lower+city_Hasankeyf+Matters.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hasankeyf: Ayyubid Mosques and Artukid Bridge</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Cultural heritage and dialogue</b><br />
<br />
Little is known about the history of Hasankeyf between the time of its first settlement in 9,500 BCE and the Romans’ use of “Kifas” – or “Rock”, as it was known in Eastern Aramaic – as a defense outpost. In the 4th century CE, Constantinius II built a palace and chapel on the solid rock mount. The naturally fortified city grew and prospered, became the seat of a Syriac Christian (Nestorian) bishop in the 5th century and participated in the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451. Following the Islamic conquest in the 7th century, a succession of Arab, Kurdish and Turkmen dynasties ruled the city. Christians, however, remained a significant proportion of the population until recently. Today, most Hasankeyf residents speak three languages: Kurdish, Arabic and Turkish. <br />
<br />
Europa Nostra has selected Hasankeyf as one of Europe’s <a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/" target="_blank">7 Most Endangered</a> sites for 2016.<br />
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<b>A synthesis of Arab, Persian and Central Asian influences</b><br />
<br />
Hasankeyf displays an extraordinary collection of diverse architectural styles from the 12th to 15th centuries. Viewed from the far bank of the Tigris, the pylons of the 12th century Artukid Bridge and the minarets of two Ayyubid mosques (built between 1378 and 1409) still dominate the skyline, a reminder that Hasankeyf is the product of numerous cultures and civilizations, most recently the Turkmen Artukids and the Kurdish Ayyubids.<br />
<br />
The Koç Mosque (date of construction uncertain) originally consisted of an <i>eyvan</i> (a grand arched entryway) combined with a domed space above the mihrab, with barrel-vaulted prayer halls on either side. While the Seljuks of Anatolia used the <i>eyvan</i> widely in madrasahs and villas, they generally did not use it in mosques, making the Koç Mosque a fascinating and unusual application of Great Seljuk design in Upper Mesopotamia.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBkEVOZWsaEjEvsC8u9n7NUAZoDudUN4918YvDKQTrmxEvGc4o3QA-hcRiLjIz_Jg-oaShTBuhxMP3D1QTSZ3XBBC5KHrdT9yIH3VTZEp_zRfleVRF_cQ-jhVoAajOLcs1-nOUqBk_z6S/s1600/Figure+6_Hasankeyf+Koc+Mosque_Hasankeyf+Matters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBkEVOZWsaEjEvsC8u9n7NUAZoDudUN4918YvDKQTrmxEvGc4o3QA-hcRiLjIz_Jg-oaShTBuhxMP3D1QTSZ3XBBC5KHrdT9yIH3VTZEp_zRfleVRF_cQ-jhVoAajOLcs1-nOUqBk_z6S/s320/Figure+6_Hasankeyf+Koc+Mosque_Hasankeyf+Matters.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koç Mosque: <i>eyvan</i> and Persian-style dome<br />
flanked by prayer halls</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The Zeynel Bey Tomb is the only example of Timurid architecture in Anatolia. Its huge calligrams, as seen in Iran and Central Asia, display the names Allah, Muhammad and Ali.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxR9e4-QCtzFlMOr65jGw7yz0fiFlftEZuUYBY3hcJ2htot27g0Jt_zIQ4oLJaAzPvzfuP5hBBfSIMX4v-Qg5_PCqK21v-sJfblRE8sF2cyd1ifHpkOAfC0FOVDWc6sWnXfeeF1FJLrmt/s1600/Figure+8_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb_Calligrams_Hasankeyf+Matters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmxR9e4-QCtzFlMOr65jGw7yz0fiFlftEZuUYBY3hcJ2htot27g0Jt_zIQ4oLJaAzPvzfuP5hBBfSIMX4v-Qg5_PCqK21v-sJfblRE8sF2cyd1ifHpkOAfC0FOVDWc6sWnXfeeF1FJLrmt/s320/Figure+8_Zeynel+Bey+Tomb_Calligrams_Hasankeyf+Matters.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zeynel Bey Tomb: calligrams in Kufic script</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Cultural heritage and economic development</b><br />
<br />
Hasankeyf is extremely important to the people of the region, not only because the site serves to strengthen their bonds with the past, but also because it helps to sustain their ways of living and their livelihoods. In times of peace, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to Hasankeyf each year.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGpDsbynJfoHnP2PkgZDtTqlOnTGwWJAxXCRPljefhkmy9LDEX8ZEyYEMcD0xm_gT9WIzi68ImJNGg4Kp5cgWwVxQT3muu7CNRFHS-LkNqvnZndVzyDPnepszJd8QhU1rKYxYlwEaGFwo/s1600/DSC_0153_20150518_Hasankeyf+High+School+Program_Montana+band.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRGpDsbynJfoHnP2PkgZDtTqlOnTGwWJAxXCRPljefhkmy9LDEX8ZEyYEMcD0xm_gT9WIzi68ImJNGg4Kp5cgWwVxQT3muu7CNRFHS-LkNqvnZndVzyDPnepszJd8QhU1rKYxYlwEaGFwo/s320/DSC_0153_20150518_Hasankeyf+High+School+Program_Montana+band.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A historically rich open space for leisure and creativity </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Taking a broad view of the historic city and its hinterlands, it is possible to craft a locally grounded management strategy that balances conservation and tourism, with the potential to accommodate millions of tourists while also preserving the site for future generations. The tourism-related revenue of Hasankeyf and its hinterlands could gradually reach €500 million annually, a figure already surpassed by Göreme, in Cappadocia, and is slightly greater than the anticipated direct revenue from the Ilısu Dam.<br />
<br />
<b>The threat to Hasankeyf</b><br />
<br />
The Ilısu Project is expected to flood 80 per cent of the town of Hasankeyf, irrevocably changing the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2012/02/unknown-nature-of-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">natural ecosystem</a> and destroying the historical landscape. While there are dams in the world that have lasted much longer, research shows that most dams built today have a <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2012/03/how-long-is-lifespan-of-dam.html" target="_blank">life expectancy</a> of less than 100 years. <br />
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Is flooding a 12,000-year-old city with a 100-year dam the optimal use of economic resources? Are there better alternatives for building peace and prosperity in the Tigris Valley? Your voice can help us build a robust dialogue around cultural heritage conservation and sustainable development.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EyMB1VcYEUB09yWsYYyTHC0ENjMk-LMTPETPZtamXb4y0lHoNFX5f2_Pv9oyf6xojg8W0KzRRAFEZPrPu1Pown2Ld2WhyphenhyphenY8cUZ0pIp5fQVfKPe7UNe-x0XGsQalSdrObjcRNB3KMo-E9/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9EyMB1VcYEUB09yWsYYyTHC0ENjMk-LMTPETPZtamXb4y0lHoNFX5f2_Pv9oyf6xojg8W0KzRRAFEZPrPu1Pown2Ld2WhyphenhyphenY8cUZ0pIp5fQVfKPe7UNe-x0XGsQalSdrObjcRNB3KMo-E9/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zeynel Bey Tomb (late 15th century)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-53070907752659863912016-05-05T13:48:00.002+03:002016-05-07T23:09:32.206+03:00May 7-8 Symposium: "Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Please join us this weekend at the "Hasankeyf and Tigris Valley Symposium," May 7-8 in Batman and Hasankeyf. Organized by the Batman Urban Council (Batman Kent Konseyi) in partnership with <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> and the Mesopotamia Ecological Council, the symposium promises a lively and productive program.<br />
<br />
Speakers include Ertuğrul Günay (former Minister of Culture and Tourism), Nevin Soyukaya (Head of Culture and Tourism for the Greater Diyarbakir Municipality and responsible for management of UNESCO-listed Sur District and Hevsel Gardens), Zeynep Ahunbay (Prof. of Architecture, former ICOMOS-Turkey President and, co-founder of Europa Nostra-Turkey), and several other well know scholars, environmentalists, and politicians (representing both the ruling AKP and the pro-Kurdish HDP).<br />
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The program is free and open to all. Batman is served by multiple flights daily from Istanbul and Ankara.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAVgqo4jNuT6gF0D264DBBG4jNXBAh5bARU6U8etCkAte-EVQvINEPTXh8xVAk9KmpRu4BZ-XwrlAGuhslHcvOCDjavcv8TfUr8sh2E8EMnTseNfopQIRbpiyRx5fDDzBy_p2LQwNkAOy/s1600/20160507_Hasankeyf+Symposium+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAVgqo4jNuT6gF0D264DBBG4jNXBAh5bARU6U8etCkAte-EVQvINEPTXh8xVAk9KmpRu4BZ-XwrlAGuhslHcvOCDjavcv8TfUr8sh2E8EMnTseNfopQIRbpiyRx5fDDzBy_p2LQwNkAOy/s320/20160507_Hasankeyf+Symposium+Banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<b>7 May 2016 – BATMAN, YILMAZ GÜNEY CINEMA</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>10:15-10:30</b><b> – </b><b>Opening Remarks</b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Gülistan AKEL (Batman Co-Mayor)</li>
<li>Abdulvahap KUSEN (Hasankeyf Mayor)</li>
</ul>
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<b>10:30-12:30</b><b> – </b><b>1st Session: Hasankeyf History and Cultural Heritage</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Moderator</b>: Nevin SOYUKAYA (Director, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Greater Diyarbakır Municipality): “Results of Diyarbakır’s Listing as UNESCO World Heritage”<br />
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<b>Presentations</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Ertuğrul GÜNAY (Former Minister of Culture and Tourism, 2007-11): “The Government’s Approach to Hasankeyf”</li>
<li>Prof. Dr. Gülriz KOZBE (Batman University): “The Geomorphology of the Tigris Valley and the First Settlements at Hasankeyf”</li>
<li>Prof. Dr. Zeynep AHUNBAY (Istanbul Technical University): “The History of and the UNESCO Process”</li>
<li>Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhat HARMAN (Batman University): “Hasankeyf and Cultural Tourism”</li>
<li>Assoc. Prof. Dr. Düzgün ÇAKIRCA (Batman University): “What do We Lose with the Ilısu Dam?”</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>12:30-13:30</b><b> – </b><b>Lunch</b><br />
<br />
<b>13:30-15:30 – 2nd Session: The Social, Ecological and Economic Impacts of the Ilısu Dam </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Moderator</b>: Prof. Ayla AKAT ATA (KJA Association Chair): “Hasankeyf and Women”<br />
<br />
<b>Presentations</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Prof. Dr. Murat BİRİCİK (Dicle University): “Biodiversity and the Ilısu Dam”</li>
<li>Ayten ERASLAN (Batman Ecological Council, Co-Spokesperson): “The Ilısu Dam Project from a Socio-ecological Perspective”</li>
<li>Selahattin GÜVENÇ (Mediterranean Migration Association, Former Co-Chair): “Migration and Social Impacts”</li>
<li>Murat TEKİN (Hasankeyf merchant): “Migration and its Social Impacts from the Local Hasankeyf Perspective”</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>15:15-15.30</b><b> – </b><b>Coffee break</b><br />
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<b>15:30-17:30 – 3rd Session: Efforts Against the Ilısu Dam Project</b><br />
<br />
<b>Moderator</b>: Gülistan AKEL (Head of the Batman Kent Konseyi)<br />
<br />
<b>Presentations</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Kemal VURAL DOĞAN (Lawyer): “Hasankeyf and Legal Struggle”</li>
<li>Dr. Veysi AYHAN (Hasankeyf’i Yaşatma Girişimi): “The Struggle Against the Ilısu Dam and for the conservation of Hasankeyf”</li>
<li>Dicle Tuba KILIÇ (Head of Doğa Derneği): “Actions of Doğa Derneği against the Ilısu Dam Project”</li>
<li>Özkan SUN (Hasankeyf Matters): “To Understand Hasankeyf, Let’s Live Hasankeyf”</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Dinner</b><br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>8 MAY 2016</b><b> – </b><b>HASANKEYF TERRACE, HASANKEYF</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>10:00-12:00</b><b> – </b><b>Hasankeyf Meeting and Discussion</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Moderator</b>: Recep KAVUŞ (Head of the Batman Environmental Volunteers Association)<br />
<br />
<b>Speakers</b>:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Abdulvahap KUSEN (Hasankeyf Mayor)</li>
<li>Mustafa BAYRAM (Co-Mayor of Halfeti/Urfa, which has been partially flooded by the Birecik Dam)</li>
<li>People from Hasankeyf</li>
<li>Dam-affected people from Halfeti</li>
<li>Dam-affected people from Dersim</li>
</ul>
<b><br /></b>
<b>12:00-13:00</b><b> – </b><b>Hasankeyf Nature Walk</b><br />
<br />
<b>13:00-14:00</b><b> – </b><b>Lunch</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Organized by Batman Urban Council, The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive, Mesopotamia Ecological Network</i></b></div>
Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-90244443333932106472016-03-16T13:30:00.001+02:002016-03-16T13:37:00.012+02:00Hasankeyf selected by Europa Nostra for 7 Most Endangered program<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The historic town of Hasankeyf, located on the Upper Tigris
River in southeastern Turkey, <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/news/737/" target="_blank">has been selected</a> as one of Europe’s “<a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/" target="_blank">7 Most Endangered</a>” heritage sites for 2016.</div>
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The announcement, which noted that
Hasankeyf is one of Europe’s most important archaeological sites, was made today
in Venice by <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/" target="_blank">Europa Nostra</a>, Europe’s leading heritage organization, and the
<a href="http://institute.eib.org/" target="_blank">European Investment Bank Institute</a>. The nomination was submitted by the <a href="http://www.kulturbilinci.org/" target="_blank">Cultural Awareness Foundation</a> and supported by Hasankeyf Matters and the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive</a> as a step toward preserving the town and supporting an
ongoing dialogue about heritage conservation and sustainability.</div>
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Hasankeyf is
under direct threat by the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant Project. If
implemented as planned, this project will flood the town and destroy most of
its <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/search/label/Archaeology">archaeological treasures</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hasankeyf in
historical context</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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With a history extending 12,000 years, Hasankeyf holds some
of the earliest evidence of organized settlement discovered anywhere. Known as
“Kifas” in Aramaic, the city was a center for Syriac Christians and became the
seat of a Nestorian bishop in the 5th century CE. From the earliest
years of the Islamic expansion, “Hisn Kayfa,” as it is called in Arabic, served
as an administrative capital for the region. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQy4U25bCkqUlHitAMOuguGHXr0ueFHeoHIXgKlFA4t73gU7JNXxAlrBYXFf4ooNS0rokPc2xtxFLr4UQsA5iXuNIGppOr8Mg7R6o5Wq9fGZiQzsuRFm35Q1oKhj9Xn226UXVBYpmlaD6/s1600/23339910512_8666af2f32_k.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQy4U25bCkqUlHitAMOuguGHXr0ueFHeoHIXgKlFA4t73gU7JNXxAlrBYXFf4ooNS0rokPc2xtxFLr4UQsA5iXuNIGppOr8Mg7R6o5Wq9fGZiQzsuRFm35Q1oKhj9Xn226UXVBYpmlaD6/s320/23339910512_8666af2f32_k.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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At the height of its prosperity in the 12th-15th centuries, Hasankeyf was famous for its architectural and technological
innovations and displays<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> even today extensive examples of Seljuk-era urban
infrastructure, including roads, water distribution networks and manufacturing
facilities. Its skyline, dominated by the pylons of a 12th-century
bridge (the largest of its day) and the minarets of two 15th-century mosques, serve
as a reminder that Hasankeyf is also the product of numerous cultures and
civilizations, including the Turkmen Artukids and the Kurdish Ayyubids. Several
monuments reflect both Sunni and Shi’i influences, and in addition to the
town’s numerous mosques and churches, </span>Ottoman population records show
that Hasankeyf continued to be inhabited by both Muslims and Christians for
centuries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hasankeyf and the surrounding Tigris Valley are of
extraordinary value to all humanity. <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-language: PT; padding: 0in;">The
area was declared a First Degree Archaeological Site by Turkey’s Supreme Board
of Monuments in 1978 and has been under the protection of the Culture
Ministry’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums since 1981. However,
Turkey has not nominated the site for World Heritage status, despite the fact
that it likely <a href="http://fsi.stanford.edu/news/cultural_heritage__the_role_of_archaeology_in_cultural_heritage_and_human_rights">fulfills
<span style="border: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="border: none;">9
of 10 UNESCO criteria</span></span></a></span>, according to a Stanford
University/Do<span lang="TR" style="mso-ansi-language: TR;">ğa Derneği </span>study
authored by Zeynep Ahunbay and Özge Balkız.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Exploring alternative
approaches to heritage conservation and sustainability</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Within the framework of the 7 Most Endangered program, a
team of heritage and financial experts from Europa Nostra and the European Investment
Bank Institute will assess the site and help formulate a feasible action plan
for conserving Hasankeyf and its invaluable universal heritage. This study will
be conducted in close cooperation with public and private stakeholders in
Turkey and will take into consideration the investments that have already been
made in the area’s development.<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Government of Turkey has its own vision for salvaging
select monuments and developing the site for tourism. <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">However, no detailed salvage plan has been
disclosed to the public, and there has been little consultation with
representatives of the local and regional population to address their
aspirations for economic advancement and safeguarding cultural heritage. The
lack of a viable scheme for protecting Hasankeyf’s monuments contributed to the
decision taken by Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2009 to withdraw export
credit support for the Ilısu Project.</span><span lang="EN-GB"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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It is hoped that a locally grounded management strategy can
be developed to balance heritage conservation and economic growth within the
broad urban ecosystem of Hasankeyf and surrounding villages. Already the first
steps to spur sustainable growth are visible in the <a href="http://www.dika.org.tr/5167-haberler" target="_blank">ecological villages project</a> launched
by the Hasankeyf District Governor in the nearby village of Üç Yol with the
support of the Tigris Development Agency (DiKA).
Given its historical significance and appealing setting, Hasankeyf and its
hinterlands, which in recent years have attracted hundreds of thousands of
visitors, could accommodate 2 million tourists and <a href="https://www.criticalmuslim.io/saving-hasankeyf/" target="_blank">generate tourism-related revenues of €500 million annually</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Europa Nostra’s 7 Most Endangered program presents an
opportunity for the Turkish Government to share best practices in heritage
conservation and sustainable economic growth, for example by publishing a
detailed action plan to realize its vision for Hasankeyf. Ideally, in order to
allow time for consensus-building among all stakeholders, construction of the
Ilısu Dam and related projects should be suspended to allow for a fully participative
discussion at all levels of society. Hasankeyf <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">could become a model
for implementing the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which
call for cities to be “<a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/" target="_blank">inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable</a>” by
emphasizing the need to “protect and safeguard the world’s natural and cultural
heritage.” </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Europa Nostra </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.europanostra.org/" target="_blank">http://www.europanostra.org</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Europa Nostra is a citizens’ movement for safeguarding
Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. Through its pan-European network of 250
member heritage organizations, 150 associated governmental and corporate
organizations and 1500 individual members, Europa Nostra works with policy
makers at local, national and European levels to protect cultural heritage and
promote economic growth and job creation. ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ has the
support of the Creative Europe program of the European Union, as part of Europa
Nostra’s network project “Mainstreaming Heritage.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cultural Awareness
Foundation</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.kulturbilinci.org/" target="_blank">http://www.kulturbilinci.org</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>The membership of the Cultural Awareness Foundation (K<span lang="TR" style="mso-ansi-language: TR;">ültür Bilincini Geliştirme Vakfı, KBGV)</span>
includes business people, artists, scholars and experts from the fields of art,
architecture, archaeology, history, etc. Through a variety of programs ranging
from seminars and conferences to documentation and conservation projects
(especially focusing on the Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods), the KBGV
works to raise awareness and increase appreciation of and contribute to the
conservation of diverse sources of cultural heritage in Turkey. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Initiative to Keep
Hasankeyf Alive<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/" target="_blank">http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Founded in 2006, this coalition of local and regional
activists, local authorities, professional<span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span>organizations
and NGOs struggles against the Ilısu Project and promotes
social-cultural-ecological development in Hasankeyf and the Upper Tigris Valley.
The coalition’s work includes research and publication, seminars and
consciousness-raising events in Hasankeyf, Batman and Dargecit. It maintains an
information office in Hasankeyf. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Hasankeyf Matters</b>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/" target="_blank">http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Hasankeyf Matters is a group of volunteers seeking to raise
awareness about Hasankeyf nationally and internationally by forging links
between the local population and visitors (including bringing together journalists,
artists, walkers, photographers, etc. at twice-yearly “<a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/search/label/Ingatherings" target="_blank">ingatherings</a>” in
Hasankeyf) and serving as an aggregator and distributor of information about
Hasankeyf (news, history, environment, tourism, etc.).</i></div>
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The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-73944090415906513382016-03-16T13:07:00.003+02:002016-03-16T13:07:28.158+02:00Europe's 7 Most Endangered heritage sites 2016 announced / 2016 Avrupa'nın En Tehlikede Olan 7 Kültür Mirası ilan edildi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohYAhEHD8RaDahfc9FZtqI2iNRvpPCZfr2o2eSB2-Q7i8oGgJW31D_50L0qyN2WUvMePEvMsgRYacQ5VuhDkaYzdL-rRiNUD4ruM70Wb5TNNLW7roAD4YgM11ShNDxHPX30aSTYyKbloE/s400/7ME2016-Website-Facebook-1200px.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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PRESS RELEASE</div>
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The Hague / Luxembourg, 16 March 2016 – The Archaeological site of Ererouyk and the village of Ani Pemza in <b>Armenia</b>, Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn in <b>Estonia</b>, Helsinki-Malmi Airport in <b>Finland</b>, Colbert Swing Bridge in Dieppe in <b>France</b>, the Kampos of Chios in <b>Greece</b>, the Convent of St. Anthony of Padua in Extremadura in <b>Spain</b>, and the <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2016/01/hasankeyf-shortlisted-for-europes-7.html" target="_blank">Ancient city of Hasankeyf and its surroundings in <b>Turkey</b></a> have been named as the 7 Most Endangered heritage sites in Europe in 2016. Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage organisation, and the European Investment Bank Institute (EIBI) <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/news/737/" target="_blank">made the announcement today</a> during a public event at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice, Italy.</div>
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These gems of Europe’s cultural heritage are in serious danger, some due to lack of resources or expertise, others due to neglect or inadequate planning. Urgent action is therefore needed. Expert missions to the sites will be arranged and feasible action plans submitted by the end of the year. ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ has the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, as part of Europa Nostra’s network project ‘Mainstreaming Heritage’.</div>
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<b>Download the full Europa Nostra press release in <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/UPLOADS/FILS/20160316-PR-7ME-EN.pdf" target="_blank">English</a> or <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/UPLOADS/FILS/20160316-PR-7ME-TR.pdf" target="_blank">Turkish</a>.</b><br />
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<i>BASIN BİLDİRİMİ</i><br />
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<i>Lahey / Lüksemburg, 16 Mart 2016 – Ermenistan’daki Ererouyk arkeolojik sit alanı ve Ani Pemza köyü, Estonya, Tallinn’deki Patarei Deniz Kalesi, Finlandiya’daki Helkinski-Malmi Havalimanı, Fransa, Dieppe’deki Colbert Swing Köprüsü, Yunanistan, Sakız’daki Kampos, İspanya, Extremadura’daki Padua San Antonio Manastırı ve <a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/2015/12/10/ancient-city-of-hasankeyf-and-its-surroundings-turkey/" target="_blank">Türkiye’deki Hasankeyf Antik Kenti ve çevresi</a>, 2016 Avrupa’nın en tehlikede olan 7 kültür mirası olarak belirlendiler. Avrupa’nın başta gelen kültür mirası kuruluşu olan Europa Nostra ile Avrupa Yatırım Bankası Enstitüsü (EIBI), İtalya, Venedik’teki Ateneo Veneto’da düzenlenen <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/news/737/" target="_blank">halka açık bir etkinlikte listeyi ilan etti</a>.</i><br />
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<i>Avrupa kültür mirasının bu değerli mücevherleri, kaynak veya uzman personel yokluğundan ya da ihmal veya kötü planlamadan dolayı ciddi tehlike altındalar. Bu nedenle acilen önlem alınması gerekiyor. Söz konusu sitlere uzmanlardan oluşan heyetlerin gitmesi sağlanacak ve yıl sonuna kadar gerçekleştirilmesi mümkün olan eylem planları hazırlanıp sunulmuş olacak. ‘En Tehkilede Olan 7 Kültür Mirası’ uygulaması, Europa Nostra’nın bir ağ projesi olan ‘Kültür Mirasının Entegrasyonu’ çerçevesinde Avrupa Birliği’nin Yaratıcı Avrupa programının desteğine sahip.</i><br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.europanostra.org/UPLOADS/FILS/20160316-PR-7ME-EN.pdf" target="_blank">İngilizce</a> veya <a href="http://www.europanostra.org/UPLOADS/FILS/20160316-PR-7ME-TR.pdf" target="_blank">Türkçe</a> tam Europa Nostra basın açıklaması indirin.</b></i></div>
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The Turkish Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02298420450701642296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5305722424403981951.post-73503870487446771582016-02-25T22:06:00.000+02:002016-02-26T15:11:37.331+02:00Hasankeyf in the headlines: A look behind the news<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This year promises to be one of renewed focus on Hasankeyf. Already in 2016, Europa Nostra has recognized Hasankeyf as one of <a href="http://7mostendangered.eu/2015/12/10/ancient-city-of-hasankeyf-and-its-surroundings-turkey" target="_blank">Europe’s 14 most endangered sites</a>, and the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/40com" target="_blank">40th meeting</a> of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, to be held in Istanbul this summer, will likely prompt even more interest in the town and its history.<br />
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In light of this heightened international attention, it hasn't been surprising to see recent declarations by the Turkish government regarding Hasankeyf making the news. In late December, the Hasankeyf District Governor announced that the town's new museum is open. Then, in January, the Turkish President insisted that the Ilısu Dam will be completed, the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ) requested that Hasankeyf residents be evacuated from their homes, and the Turkish Parliament approved the operation of the hydroelectric plant connected to Ilısu, and thus, the inundation of Hasankeyf. The press – <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35471815" target="_blank">including the BBC</a> – has generally relayed the government’s discouraging messages without examining the actual situation or talking to people in Hasankeyf.<br />
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The view in the town diverges significantly from the headlines seen in mainstream media. Local sources have told us that neither the new legislation nor the DSİ orders have changed their circumstances or outlook. “This is very difficult,” said one businessman, referring to the government’s efforts to apply pressure on the people of Hasankeyf. “They keep squeezing us,” commented another. Politicians in both Hasankeyf and the larger province of Batman have raised objections to the government’s policy towards Hasankeyf, criticizing both the destruction of cultural heritage and the lack of protection for the unique demographic composition of this mixed Arab-Kurdish town. <br />
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What follows is a list of major statements and declarations made by government officials and other stakeholders in recent weeks, along with some notes about how these comments reflect the situation on the ground.<br />
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<b>Dec. 27</b>: Hasankeyf District Governor Bülent Baygüven announces the <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/new-hasankeyfs-museum-ready-to-open-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=93225&NewsCatID=375" target="_blank">“opening” of the new Hasankeyf museum</a> and summarizes the government’s vision for heritage conservation. The new museum, however, stands empty and there is no sign that the town's monuments can be moved soon.<br />
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<b>Jan. 6</b>: Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu proposes <a href="http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/hasankeyfin-ilce-sinirlari-belli-oldu-40037201" target="_blank">new municipal boundaries for Hasankeyf</a> in Parliament.<br />
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<b>Jan. 12</b>: In a <a href="http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/?p=344" target="_blank">written petition</a>, HDP Batman MP Ayşe Acar Başaran queries Culture Minister Mahir Ünal about Hasankeyf, the government’s justification for flooding the town, and the viability of its plans for preserving the town’s heritage.<br />
<http: p="344" www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net="">
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Jan. 14</b>: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insists that <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx?pageID=238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" target="_blank">the Ilısu Dam will be completed</a> and criticizes academics and “Greenpeace” for their opposition to dams.<http: pageid="238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx="" www.hurriyetdailynews.com=""><br />
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Jan. 20</b>: The <a href="http://www.haberturk.com/yasam/haber/1183497-hasankeyfte-600-eve-bosaltin-yazisi" target="_blank">DSİ asks the District Governor to evacuate Hasankeyf</a>. This request contradicts a <a href="http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/2015/06/a-legal-challenge-to-hasankeyf.html" target="_blank">government declaration issued in May 2015</a> that states that residents will be required to vacate their current homes within 30 days of taking possession of their new homes. The state housing enterprise, TOKİ, has not yet built these houses, so the legal basis for the DSİ’s request appears feeble. In addition, some Hasankeyf residents still refuse to accept the terms of expropriation offered by the DSİ.<br />
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Jan. 20</b>: Murat Cano, who has mounted legal challenges to the Ilısu project in Turkey and at the European Court for Human Rights, <a href="http://arkeofili.com/?p=10681" target="_blank">summarizes the legal campaign for Hasankeyf</a> at the annual meeting of Europa Nostra-Turkey. Having served as a member of a court-appointed expert committee reviewing plans for the removal and protection of monuments in 2012, Cano said, “On this subject no project has been prepared, nor is there any approval by official agencies.” He also announced that the European Court of Human Rights would be reviewing the case of Hasankeyf in 2016.<br />
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Jan. 26</b>: In a <a href="http://www.suhakki.org/2016/01/su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk/#.Vqn3qMdqMT" target="_blank">radio interview</a>, Hasankeyf resident Murat Tekin (and HDP mayoral candidate in 2014) says that the DSİ request to evacuate the town is unrealistic and serves merely as a form of psychological pressure. <http: qn3qmdqmt-="" su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk="" www.suhakki.org=""><br />
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Jan. 29</b>: Parliament passes a law changing Hasankeyf’s geographical coordinates to the new settlement area, but keeping the administrative center of the town in the existing settlement for the time being. The law also <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/national_hasankeyf-braces-for-submersion-as-parliament-gives-go-ahead-for-dam-operation_410950.html" target="_blank">approves operation of the Ilısu Dam</a> and the flooding of Hasankeyf, causing alarm among Hasankeyf friends across Turkey and all over the world. However, Hasankeyf residents have told us that “nothing has changed.” Work on the dam is progressing very slowly and residents remain in their old homes with no idea of when the new houses will be available and when they will be required to move.<br />
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Feb. 4</b>: Speaking to <i>Deutsche Welle</i>, Mechtild Rössler, the Director of UNESCO’s Division for Heritage and World Heritage Center, says that <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hasankeyf-not-submitted-to-unesco-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=94758&NewsCatID=375" target="_blank">Turkey has not officially applied to UNESCO to list Hasankeyf</a> as a World Heritage Site. <br />
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Feb 5</b>: HDP MP for Batman <a href="http://www.milliyet.com.tr/hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi/siyaset/detay/2189961/default.htm" target="_blank">Mehmet Aslan reads a statement</a> before Parliament stating that the Kurdish and Arab population of Hasankeyf will be adversely affected by resettlement and noting that several tombs in the town belong to <i>sahabe</i> or “Companions of the Prophet” martyred during the city’s conquest in the 7th century. <http: default.htm="" detay="" hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi="" siyaset="" www.milliyet.com.tr=""><br />
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Feb. 7</b>: In a lengthy <a href="http://www.batmansonsoz.com/haber/9584/hasankeyf-tum-makamlarin-ustundedir" target="_blank">interview with <i>Batman Sonsöz</i></a> newspaper, Hasankeyf Mayor Abdulvahap Kusen (AKP) states, "I'm not against dams, but I am against the destruction of Hasankeyf." He also says that the people of Hasankeyf should move to the new settlement area as a group so that their sense of community can be preserved and the historical treasure of Hasankeyf protected. He also insists on guarantees of employment for local people and a serious tourism plan going beyond broad references to water sports.<br />
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Feb 12</b>: The Cihan news agency reports that the Minister of Forests and Water Affairs, Veysel Eroğlu, speaking before the Planning and Budgeting Commission of the Turkish Parliament, made the <a href="http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2016/gundem/erogludan-bir-garip-hasankeyf-aciklamasi-1088399/" target="_blank">following comments</a>:</http:></http:></http:></http:><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<http: p="344" www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net=""><http: pageid="238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx="" www.hurriyetdailynews.com=""><http: qn3qmdqmt-="" su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk="" www.suhakki.org=""><http: default.htm="" detay="" hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi="" siyaset="" www.milliyet.com.tr="">
“Hasankeyf is in total ruin <i>[tamamen yok edilmiş]</i>. The Artukid bridge has been completely destroyed. Its stones have been taken and used in buildings in various places. They have been used in stables and houses. Hasankeyf is completely under water. If we had not built the Ilısu Dam at Hasankeyf that historical city on the cliff was going to fall and it would have been destroyed on its own. By means of this dam we are reinforcing it. We are completely protecting especially the historical upper city. In addition some of the historical monuments will become a first example in the world; there is the Zeynel Bey Tomb. Now the bidding process has been completed and we will move it in a special way... We have completed the archaeological excavations in their entirety. It will even be considered an exemplary project worldwide...”</http:></http:></http:></http:></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1aug8eF_WaFxKW_3jsRxNJaMpy-ihwu9W0SaiiFJoTgdYMuftSjr8mi0HsDn2J7L2zkkLskhaPS3YUBqGcx7r4UGTyJtFaAs-qnF5bA6vaFIyemzSUHFiKx5AoIA50K6Gli5iZIFttzY/s1600/DSC_0149_20130703_Artukid+Bridge+Pylons-Rizk+Minaret.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1aug8eF_WaFxKW_3jsRxNJaMpy-ihwu9W0SaiiFJoTgdYMuftSjr8mi0HsDn2J7L2zkkLskhaPS3YUBqGcx7r4UGTyJtFaAs-qnF5bA6vaFIyemzSUHFiKx5AoIA50K6Gli5iZIFttzY/s320/DSC_0149_20130703_Artukid+Bridge+Pylons-Rizk+Minaret.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pylons of the 12th c. Artukid Bridge at Hasankeyf</td></tr>
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<http: p="344" www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net=""><http: pageid="238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx="" www.hurriyetdailynews.com=""><http: qn3qmdqmt-="" su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk="" www.suhakki.org=""><http: default.htm="" detay="" hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi="" siyaset="" www.milliyet.com.tr="">
In summary, it is impossible to know how quickly the government may carry out its plans to flood Hasankeyf. Labor disputes, regional conflict and <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/kurdish-militants-threaten-attack-turkey-dams-134949094.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=tw#" target="_blank">PKK threats</a> have contributed to <a href="http://aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-pkk-threatens-dam-projects-in-southeast/292177" target="_blank">significant delays</a> in construction of the dam, and there is still no clear timeline for building houses in the new settlement and requiring residents to move out of their present homes. It could be a long time before the campaign to save Hasankeyf completes its work.</http:></http:></http:></http:><br />
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--HK Matters team<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifh6I7hBBmweL0EvAycqyRAttsFYsu8ytTHErzgVp-jYRf4rv7KeUluHUBLQpC6vKhlKl3mZoAVDbQvNtxHgliHQzN6Rgq7tpncD-Zo-pL_eZejYVdUecT-wO6ISb9xffDauOUfHhIGplZ/s1600/DSC_0047_20130819_Hasankeyf+Cityscape+from+Imam+Abdullah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifh6I7hBBmweL0EvAycqyRAttsFYsu8ytTHErzgVp-jYRf4rv7KeUluHUBLQpC6vKhlKl3mZoAVDbQvNtxHgliHQzN6Rgq7tpncD-Zo-pL_eZejYVdUecT-wO6ISb9xffDauOUfHhIGplZ/s320/DSC_0047_20130819_Hasankeyf+Cityscape+from+Imam+Abdullah.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two mosques built by Ayyubid Sultan Suleyman dominate <br />
the lower city of Hasankeyf</td></tr>
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<http: p="344" www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net=""><http: pageid="238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx="" www.hurriyetdailynews.com=""><http: qn3qmdqmt-="" su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk="" www.suhakki.org=""><http: default.htm="" detay="" hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi="" siyaset="" www.milliyet.com.tr=""><br /></http:></http:></http:></http:>
<http: p="344" www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net=""><http: pageid="238&nID=93864&NewsCatID=338" pkk-and-their-supporters-academics-against-new-dams-says-turkish-president.aspx="" www.hurriyetdailynews.com=""><http: qn3qmdqmt-="" su-hakkinda-hasankeyflilere-gonderilen-tahliye-kararini-konustuk="" www.suhakki.org=""><http: default.htm="" detay="" hdp-li-vekilden-hasankeyf-cikisi="" siyaset="" www.milliyet.com.tr=""><br /></http:></http:></http:></http:>
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Hasankeyf Mattershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17534305996002339985noreply@blogger.com0