Stone buildings line the waterfront in old Halfeti, Şanlıurfa province.
A controlled water release that began Oct. 29 at the Birecik Dam has exposed parts of old Halfeti submerged for about 26 years, including the historic Grand Mosque and old burial grounds in Türkiye’s southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.
The release is part of routine checks for seepage at the Atatürk, Birecik and Karkamış dams on the Euphrates River. Lowering the Birecik reservoir allows crews to measure seepage downstream of the Atatürk Dam.
The Halfeti District Governor’s Office said the plan was to lower the Birecik reservoir by 8 meters to an elevation of 377 meters, at a rate of no more than 50 centimeters a day, and hold it there for the checks.
Officials aim to complete the checks by Nov. 15, after which the water level is expected to return to normal. The governor’s office urged residents to exercise caution, saying the work could temporarily disrupt drinking water supplies, irrigation and water delivery through systems linked to the three dams.
The falling water level has also affected tourism in Halfeti. Some floating restaurants and boats ran aground as the shoreline receded. Boat tours on the reservoir normally take visitors past traces of the old settlement.
The Birecik Dam began filling in 2000. By October of that year, the reservoir had covered the lower parts of Halfeti’s district center as well as Kavunlu, Geçittepe and Keskince, three villages near the dam, according to a report by the Southeastern Anatolia Project Administration.
Authorities moved the district center to Karaotlak, some seven to eight kilometers from old Halfeti, and resettled residents whose homes were inundated in a development known as New Halfeti, according to parliamentary records. The relocation plan called for 2,000 homes for families whose properties would be flooded.
The Birecik Dam was built under the Southeastern Anatolia Project, known as GAP, which developed hydropower and irrigation across the region. The Harran Plain, another part of the project in Şanlıurfa, receives irrigation water from the Atatürk Dam reservoir through the Şanlıurfa tunnels.
