02/16/17 Class Notes

·        Hasankeyf Documentary

·         Given the name by Islamic medieval historians, name means steep castle

·         Takes its root from Armenian

·         Ciphas, Roman name

·         Inscription (literature), mathematics, medicine, scale and measuring tools

·         Ecosystem destroyed by dams

·         Now there is Tigris river, important to natural history

·         Forming islands, narrow valleys and wetlands

·         Unique and breathtaking landscape

·         Valley between border has a lot of biodiversity

·         Ilisu dam constructed with doing environmental impacts, causing a lot of species to go extinct

·         No tourism development plans

·         Economy damaged with dam

·         Water level will flood bridge and caves

·         Only part of minaret will be above water

·         Meets 9/10 criteria

·         Ministry of culture must apply

·         1997, Dam will produce 3.5 billion KwH, hydroelectric, 1% of Turkey’s energy

·         Primacy by Byzantine Empire

·         Founder of Manicheanism

·         Will flood ecosystem

·         European Investment banks drew back from dam project

·         People are used to living in small cities, may face big problems moving into big cities

·         Dam will cost 1.5 billion

·         Where wheat was first planted

·         Alexander the Great, Romans, Mongols, Sultan Selim I

·         Hosted countless civilizations

·         The dam would undermine 12,000 years of history

·         The Euphrates was decimated

·         Could be saved with designation as a World Heritage site

·         Only the federally designated agency that is representative of the country can present the dossier to UNESCO, activists cannot do that

·         Ministry of Culture is like National Parks Service in the U.S.

·         The federal government is invested in the dam

·         The Parliament is trying to cut down a lot of the democratic powers that currently exist, put powers in the hand of the president, become more of an authoritarian regime

·         Cultural heritage, a way to erase/control/oppress, ignore the rights of flora and fauna, basic heritage rights ignored. Human rights violations. Problematic. Outside communities don’t have a way. It’s internal.

·         Need infrastructure and development projects to help the community in the area

·         River provided flexibility and transportation