Gaziantep One of my stops during the flavor tour halfeti was. Halfeti, the city that was suddenly submerged under dam waters while enjoying the abundance of the river that passes by. Its history, which dates back to 800 BC, was submerged under water.
Where is Halfeti?
The distance between Gaziantep and Halfeti is about 100 km, and from Urfa 120 km. Since we rented a car during our Antep trip, we reached Halfeti after a 1,5-hour journey.
The part of the reservoir and the abandoned old Halfeti are now the starting point of the reservoir tours. The excursion boats depart as they fill up. We are lucky that the weather is very nice, the boats did not run due to the wind the previous day.
Halfeti Boat Tour
Boats operate on a bargain basis, small boats depart for 100 TL. If you want, give 2 people 50 per thousand, if you want, give 10 people a thousand, 10 TL per person. I do not recommend the very large ones, they travel very fast and do not stop in between. If you prefer small ones and agree with the captain, he will take you around slowly, and there is an abandoned village opposite Rumkale (you can recognize it by the minaret of the mosque, half of which is submerged in water), and you can take a tea break there.
During the boat tour, you will see Rumkale, which is sitting on the rocks in a magnificent way, and the abandoned village due to the dam. And of course, the pleasure of sightseeing on the river is also free.
We did our boat tour with a group of teachers from Urfa. Teachers' problems We talked about how 4+4+4 is not suitable for the Southeast. They told that the students who came to the kindergarten did not know Turkish and they taught Turkish in the kindergarten. The dimensions of poverty, students who come to school with slippers in winter, families where 10 children are normal...
In the abandoned village where we take a tea break, we become the guests of the family whose house was under water. They say that they could not find a job when they left their village, that the number of households in the new village is decreasing day by day, and that immigration to Antep and Urfa has increased. “We used to have a garden, the land by the river was fertile, there is nothing to do in the new village,” they said. Our brother, who used to run the village coffee house, now makes a living off of the treats he offers to those who do boat tours, all he wants is for his children to study and save themselves.
It's like we've traveled to a completely different world… Changing lives due to the dam, changing ecosystem, flooded history/culture… To me again No to HEPPs it does, of course.
Before I came to Halfeti, I had seen the Ancient City of Zeugma and witnessed the underwater history. A few months ago I took another mind-boggling trip to Hasankeyf that was soon to be submerged. On the way back to Antep, I kept thinking why human beings are so greedy.
I couldn't help thinking, "See the must-see places in our country as soon as possible, otherwise we will soon destroy them all together."
Stay on the Road!