Both Demolition and Resistance Continue in Hasankeyf's Historic Bazaar

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The transfer of historical buildings due to the construction of a dam in Hasankeyf, Urfa continues.

For the transfer of the 600-year-old Er Rızk Mosque, the historic bazaar on Kale Street was demolished on Wednesday (November 6).

Authorities had given time to shop owners in the historical bazaar to move to the new settlement area until November 3.

The ancient city of Hasankeyf, which was founded 12 thousand years ago, will be submerged in the water once the Ilısu Dam operates in full capacity. Authorities transferred numerous historical buildings from the area that will submerge.

"Some artisans were not granted a place"

Mehmet Kızmaz, a journalist from the region, told bianet that "both the demolition and resistance continue."

"Some left the historical bazaar, which has about 50 shops, but there are also those who stayed because they were not given a place in the new settlement area. Some artisans, although they lived in Hasankeyf, were not counted as people of the region because, I guess, they are not married and they were not granted a place, a shop in the new area. These artisans are resisting.

Hasankeyf'in tarihi çarşısı dozerlerle yıkılıyor.
O anları kayda alan esnaf:"Hasankeyf'i koruyoruz dedikleri budur"

Hasankeyfliler gibi esnafı da,onlarca yıl her türlü baskı gördü.Mecbur bırakılarak,pazar zorla çıkarıldı.Kale Sokağındaki çarşının yıkımına da pazartesi başlandı. pic.twitter.com/Bx0AXzBuX8

— Mehmet Kızmaz (@MehmedKizmaz) November 6, 2019

" There was an intense public reaction to the demolition. Thereupon, in an area that is already in the historic docks, the artifacts from Seljuks were presented as if they had just been found. They spread it as if they had come during the demolition.

"They are spreading, saying, 'We are building a library.' The number of people is low but still, they announce that 'We are building a library.' We are under intense manipulation from the media. For this reason, we give importance to spreading the right information." (EMK/VK)