NEZIH BAŞGELEN (ARCHEOLOGY AND ART MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2000)
Archaeological studies carried out in the lake areas of Keban, Karakaya and Atatürk dams on the Euphrates within the scope of GAP since 1967 have yielded important results that will change the history of civilization. On the other hand, in the basin that will remain in the lake area of the Birecik Dam, which has been under construction since 1996, since the detection and rescue works have not been carried out properly until this stage, not only the archaeological values as in the Belkıs / Zeugma example, but also the civil architecture specific to the region, in the urban and rural texture, are irreplaceably lost. It was left to the destruction of the waters without documentation. Likewise, the flora and fauna of the region, which are a part of our natural heritage, have been lost without being fully documented. Above all, a painful fact is that after the Birecik Dam and Karchemish Dams, the "river of heaven", the Euphrates civilization, will not flow directly within the borders of Turkey in this century, along with its basin.
Since a healthy inventory of cultural and natural assets has not been made in our country so far, and there is no land organization to realize this, we are not in a position to know exactly what we have lost with large investments such as the one we experienced in the Birecik Dam example.
For this reason, we are erasing from history with our own hands a significant part of our cultural and natural heritage, which we are proud of at every opportunity and which we need to transfer from the past to the future, never to be replaced again. Even the computers we use today, when deleting a transaction we have made, ask in two or three stages whether we really want to do this. Do we really want to erase or recklessly destroy our cultural and natural heritage so easily? Having a rich cultural and natural heritage gives us the responsibility to fully recognize, know, protect and transfer it to the future, not the right to destroy it. In our rapidly growing country, the number of major infrastructure investments will also increase. The destruction caused by the technologies used in its construction puts the future of our country in danger. In cases where investments necessary for the development and future of our country are inevitable, at least documenting such values in detail and transferring them to future generations should be a prerequisite for investment projects. This; It is an indisputable indicator of being a civilized society in the world. These values, which are part of the common heritage of all humanity; It should not be sacrificed blindly without being documented and at least a part of it being protected.
The Roman Legion camp and bath found during the construction of the Birecik Dam body, the priceless unique artifacts found in the Early Bronze Age Cemetery, the Roman villas in Belkıs/Zeugma, the ancient settlement of Apamea, the mounds of Tilböür, Tilbes, Tilmusa, Horum, Kalemeydanı and Halfeti. In the buildings, in the villages of Belkıs, Yeşiltepe, Fındıklı, Aşağı Çardak, Erenköy Gümüşgün, Kalemeydanı Town, Keskince, Bahçeönü, Durucak Kavaklıca, Çekem Savşan, Akçağlayan, Gözeli on the west side, all the cultural and natural values we lost in the Upper Euphrates Valley and the ecological ruins that were under water. The basin is an example of this whose pain has not cooled down. In order to prevent similar losses in the future, we have to develop a new development model that takes into account the cultural needs of our country. As a matter of fact, the agreements to which we are a party at the international level, especially the Malta Convention, accept as a basic principle that any investment on land should be carried out without destroying the cultural heritage.
Although there are some positive initiatives in this direction today, it cannot be said that all relevant units can work in full coordination. It has become an urgent necessity to change the laws and regulations in force in this regard according to the new developing trends in the world and to reorganize our relevant bureaucratic structure. In addition, it is of great importance to ensure the necessary communication and coordination with organizations related to conservation and documentation during the project phase of large investments. Despite all the values we have lost so far, Belkıs/Zeugma fulfilled a historical duty before surrendering in order to eliminate the insensitivity in the public and the authorities. “Why was it late for Belkıs/Zeugma?”For those who say “It's not too late to save Hasankeyf, what are you waiting for? “says.
