Hasankeyf

Hasankeyf is a small village at the Tigris River, on the road between Batman and Midiyat. A modern bridge now spans that river, but the impressive remains of a much older bridge are standing tall. High rocks house thousands of rock houses, and support a mosque and the remains of an extensive ancient city, now in ruins. The town was founded in Roman times as a border post with Persia. It started out as Cephe or Kiphas, and was renamed Hisn Kayfa by the Arabs who conquered it in 640. Later Artokids and Ajjadubids ruled, until the Mongols plundered it so thoroughly in 1260 that it never regained its glory. The age of the old bridge is unknown, it has been restored in 1116 by the Ortokid Fahr ed-​Din Kara Arslan. In the Kale or citadel one can find the remains of an Ortokid palace (not very impressive, though) and a Ulu or Great Mosque. For years the town was expected to be drowned by the waters of another artifical lake, like there are a lot in these areas (the Ilusu Dam Project). The last I heard was that there were troubles in financing that project, partly because of the growing protests against the cultural vandalism involved. I hope this treasure will be visible for many years to come. However, I later read that in August 2006 the decision was made to flood the place after all. Hopefully the 40 million euro reserved for saving cultural treasures will help save some of what you can see here, but much will disappear.
The legend told by Cheref-​Ouddin, Kurdish prince of Bitlis, in his book Cheref-​Nameh (Marvels of the Kurdish Nation), written exactly 400 years ago, recalls an Arab prisoner called Hasan.
Hasan, who was had been sentenced to death, requested a last favour. He asked if he could he ride, for one last time, his beloved horse in the courtyard of the fortress, towering above the waters of the Tigris river, where he was incarcerated? His last request was granted — and during the course of his ride, the prisoner jumped his horse over the wall of the fortress into the Tigris — a formidable leap of 150 meters. The horse died on landing in the waters but the prisoner escaped, to the astonishment of all who witnessed the scene. According to legend, the spectators exclaimed: Hasan Keif? (Hasan, How), and from that day on the name was bestowed on the fortress which has kept it through the centuries.
An old citadel built by the Ayyubids
Today, the old citadel built by the Ayyubids in the 13^th century and later occupied by many Kurdish chieftains, lies in ruins on the top of the huge limestone cliff rising vertically above the river Tigris. The old city of Hasankeyf, built besides the old mosque of the fortress, also lies in ruins. Some 30 years ago its inhabitants were forced by the government to abandon their centuries old houses, many of which were carved in the limestone, to come down and settle in the valley. The bitter irony of the story is that now the new city of Hasankeyf is under threat, doomed to disappear under water in 5 or 6 years after the new Ilisu dam is built farther down the valley within the framework of the Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP).
Had its inhabitants stayed in their original homes, they could have remained without problems in a place that will stil lie several dozen meters above the new level of water. But the whole new city, the old bridge, and many historical monuments, will all disappear under the flood of the dam. The locals will disperse to look for new homes and jobs in Batman or elsewhere, without any help from the government.
Every summer week-​end the small city is invaded by huge crowds of local tourists coming from Batman, a large industrial Kurdish city, some 30 km away. For two days, Hasankeyf is full of people looking for some shade and relaxation on the bank of the Tigris, where they can eat Kebab and drink a cold soda while dipping their feet in the river. Others prefer to enjoy the cool atmosphere of huge caves dug in the cliff, where local entrepreneurs have set up cafes, with carpets, cushions and old wooden couches, where tourists can lay for hours listening to traditional Turkish music, waiting for the time of the day when the worst of the day’s heat has subsided and they can climb the amazing steps dug centuries ago partly on the flank of the cliff, partly inside the cliff — and reach the ancient ruins of the old fortress.
Spectacular ruins
The ruins of the small palace located at the north-​east end of the fortress are spectacularly perched at the extreme end of the cliff, dominating the valley like the stern of a huge stone ship. Looking down at the Tigris and the valley through one of its remaining windows one can understand why the Kurdish chiefs who lived there until the end of the 19^th century felt so proud and so secure: perched up there, almost in the clouds, one had not much in common with the poor human beings toiling down in the valley below. Alas, little is left of the great palace, except a standing pillar of the old