Historical Turkish bath in southeast Turkey moved up

13th-century hamam to be relocated to escape being submerged under dam waters

By Selman Tur

BATMAN, Turkey (AA) - A 13th-century Turkish bath, or hammam, is being relocated Monday to a new site to save it from flooding when a new dam opens in southeast Turkey.

A 256-wheeler flatbed truck began moving the 1,500-ton ancient Artuqid-era bath early at dawn to a cultural park in Hasankeyf town in Batman province.

The bath will be carried some 3 kilometers away from its original spot.

"Six more monuments will also be transported. Hasankeyf will protect its historical identity," Batman Governor Ahmet Deniz told Anadolu Agency.

The reservoir created by the Ilisu dam project will swamp parts of Hasankeyf, 32 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of provincial capital Batman.

Hasankeyf town was declared a conservation area in 1981. There are nearly 6,000 caves around the town that contain the remnants of Christian and Muslim worship, as well as a Byzantine fortress.

The transportation of the bath is expected to be completed in six hours.

Kaynak:

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