[OFF-THE-BEATEN-TRACK TURKEY]
Hasankeyf

The result of all the publicity has been to bring Turks, especially from the East, rushing to visit Hasankeyf. However for the time being foreign visitors are still relatively rare, not least because the cloud hanging over the town has removed any incentive to build a good hotel there.

Of all the sites in southeastern Turkey, Hasankeyf’s is arguably the most spectacular. As you approach across the flat plain from Batman, a dramatic sweep of curved rock suddenly juts up above the cool blue waters of the Tigris, while the abandoned struts of the old Artukid bridge hint at the treasures to come. The approach from Midyat is less dramatic since it sneaks you in at the rear where the souvenir stalls are a tad off-putting. However, you have only to walk past them to find yourself in an echoing gorge riddled with old cave homes. To the right the ruins of the old town straggling up the cliff-face offer an invitation, difficult to ignore, to commence climbing.

Just as in Cappadocia, some of the cave dwellings at Hasankeyf date back to the centuries before written records. However, the expanding settlement didn’t really come into its own until the 12th and 13th centuries when it was governed by the Artuklus, an offshoot of the Selcuks who also held sway in Mardin. Eventually their place was taken by the Ayyubids who were, in turn, replaced by the prettily-named Akkoyunlu (White Sheep) dynasty. It was their king Uzun Hasan (Hasan the Tall) who built the imposing palace on the summit of the rock, but tempting as it is to imagine that he also bestowed his name on the settlement, Hasankeyf actually appears to be a corruption of the Arabic Hisn al-Kifa, meaning “fortress of the rock.” In 1260 the Mongols roared into town and undermined the White Sheep rulers, who nevertheless managed to cling onto power until 1416, by which time the Ottomans also had Hasankeyf in their sights. However, once they had eliminated the threat to their borders from Safavid Iran, the Ottomans lost interest again and left the town to fall into the slumber from which it was eventually awoken by the dam furor.

A cobbled path zigzags up to the top of the gorge, passing through a graceful monumental gateway dating back to the 14th century. Eventually you arrive at the remains of the Small Palace built by Uzun Hasan, currently inaccessible. The path continues to wind ever upwards until it deposits you near the ruins of the Big Palace and the Ulu Cami. The mosque dates back to the 12th century and had survived with its dome intact into the 21st century when misguided protestors against the dam clambered on top of it and caused it to fall in.

Up near the mosque stand the remains of stone-fronted cave houses very like those in Cappadocia. These continued in occupation into the 1970s, when the residents opted to be rehoused back at ground level.

The main attractions at Hasankeyf are grouped together around the gorge, but it’s worth finding time to inspect a few outlying sites as well. These include a cute, humpback-domed tomb covered in green and blue tiles that housed the remains of Uzun Hasan’s son Zeynel Bey and dates back to c. 1480. Also worth a look is the graceful stone minaret of the Er Rizk mosque, which rises up near the bridge in the heart of the modern village. With teardrop-shaped panels of calligraphy dripping down its façade, it looks very like the minarets in Mardin. The mosque itself is less interesting, the original having long ago slipped into the river.

Although there are plenty of specific sites to explore at Hasankeyf, the real joy of a visit lies in the chance to explore its spectacular location. It’s hard to know which is the more beautiful -- the stunning, unspoilt rural view from the summit of the gorge looking inland, or the beautiful vista down over the river with the curving rock throwing a protective arm around it. In high summer the latter view is best appreciated from simple çardak (shelter) restaurants set up right in the river so that you can tuck into your fish lunch with cooling water lapping around your feet.

It is almost impossible to believe that a place as beautiful as this could actually vanish, but the loss of the Roman site at Belkis-Zeugma to the Birecik Dam suggests that it is still a real possibility. The government is apparently prepared to pay for some of the monuments to be moved elsewhere, but such would be the cost that it is hard to believe a replacement site could ever be a patch on the original.

The message of this piece then? Go now!

How to get there

Regular dolmuşes from Batman to Midyat pass through Hasankeyf. You can also organize a taxi excursion from Mardin -- it takes two hours in each direction.

Where to stay

There is one very simple hotel in Hasankeyf, although some visitors have put up at the Öğretmen Evi (Teachers’ House) without being teachers. There are plenty of business-class hotels in Batman, or you can stay in much more attractive Midyat.

Midyat Konukevi. Tel: (482) 462 13 54

Hotel Demirdağ, Midyat. Tel: (482) 462 20 00