Symposium about Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley

A two day symposium regarding challenges to the protection of the Tigris Valley and the city of Hasankeyf, listed as one of Europa Nostra’s “7 Most Endangered” heritage sites in Europe, will take place in Batman and Hasankeyf, Turkey on 7 and 8 May 2016.

The symposium is organised by the Batman City Advisors (Batman Kent Conseil/Konseyi) in partnership with The Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive and the Mesopotamia Ecological Council. This promises to be a lively and productive program. The impressive roster of speakers includes Nevin Soyukaya (Head of Culture and Tourism for the Greater Diyarbakir Municipality and responsible for management of UNESCO-listed Sur District and Hevsel Gardens), Ertuğrul Günay (former Minister of Culture and Tourism), Zeynep Ahunbay (Prof. of Architecture, former ICOMOS-Turkey President and co-founder of Europa Nostra-Turkey) and several other well know scholars, environmentalists, and politicians (representing both the ruling AKP and the pro-Kurdish HDP). The program is free and open to all. Batman is served by multiple flights daily from Istanbul and Ankara.

The key speakers will discuss the history of the heritage site, the threats it faces and future actions to be taken to protect this remarkable heritage.

For more information please visit http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.net/