Hasankeyf

Hasankeyf sat on the Tigris where the river cuts through limestone cliffs, occupied more or less continuously for thousands of years, with a citadel on the crag, thousands of cut caves in the rock faces, the piers of a great twelfth-century bridge standing in the river, mosques, tombs and a lived-in old town below. In 2019 and 2020 the reservoir of the Ilısu dam filled the valley, and the lower town and much of the cave landscape went under water. Before the flooding, eight of the principal monuments - the Zeynel Bey tomb with its glazed brickwork, the Artuklu bath, mosque minarets and gateways - were cut from their foundations and moved several kilometres to a new cultural park above the new shoreline, where they now stand. The citadel and the upper caves survive above water. What a visitor sees today is therefore a relocated monument park, a reservoir, and a crag - the setting that gave the monuments their meaning is gone, and it is worth knowing that before arriving.

Highlights

• The relocated monuments - eight structures moved to the new park.
• The Zeynel Bey tomb - the glazed brick tower in its new position.
• The citadel crag - the fortress rock above the water line.
• The reservoir - the lake over the former lower town.

When to go

April to May and October to November; summers here are extremely hot. Check current access to the citadel, which has varied.

What to expect

The historic town centre is underwater and the monuments stand out of their original context in a modern park - visitors expecting the old Hasankeyf of photographs will not find it. Facilities are limited and there is little shade.

Nearby

Batman is 40 km north; Midyat and the Tur Abdin monasteries are south-east.

Key facts