Demolitions continue in Hasankeyf, a city with a 12 thousand year old history, as the site waits to be flooded due to the under construction Ilisu Dam. Many sections of society protest the planned flooding of the historic site. One of the protesters is Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul Chapter Culture and Arts Commission Spokesperson Mehmet Ucar, who is writing a play titled Hasankeyf to create awareness against the destruction.

Ucar said they staged a part of the play for documentation due to the continued destruction in Hasankeyf and time running out until the flooding. 

PARTIALLY STAGED

Ucar said he aimed for a two act play when he started to write: “I still continue to write the play. But the destruction in Hasankeyf continues every day, and the dam is going to start collecting water. At that point I believe we must create awareness at once. So we needed to act fast. We filmed 15 minutes of the play I wrote and compressed that to 5 minutes for easy sharing on social media. But as I said, this is a two act play and it will meet the audiences in fall.”

Ucar said Hasankeyf is an important cultural center for human history: “Hasankeyf is a play based on awareness against looting and destruction. The great Ali Yildirim is staging the play.” Ucar said when the play is completed it will be staged by a larger company.

“THEY WANT TO DESTROY OUR HISTORY”
Ucar said Hasankeyf has a history of 12 thousand years: “The dam is going to destroy that. What they want to destroy is the Meds, the Persians, Sumerians, Assyrians. Hasankeyf is the common legacy of human history. What stands to be destroyed is our history, memory and legacy. That is why it is important to keep Hasankeyf from flooding. With this in mind, we call on all to be aware. Hasankeyf must not be flooded.”