Halfeti ( ku, Xelfêtî) is a town and district on the east bank of the river

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Euph ...

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province ( tr, Şanlıurfa ili; ku, Parêzgeha Rihayê) or simply Urfa Province is a province in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,845,667 (2014). The ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, from the city of

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ext ...

. Population (2000 census) 33,467 (of which 2,608 were in the town of Halfeti, the majority being in the surrounding villages). Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at

Birecik Birecik; ku, Bêrecûk is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the Euphrates. Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, "at the upper part of a reach of that river, which runs nearl ...

. The town was therefore moved to the village of Karaotlak. Halfeti was the subject of an internet

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

wherein the town was the only location on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

where black

roses A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

grew.

Post-dam settlement

As part of the

Southeastern Anatolia Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project ( tr, Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2005) living in the Southeastern Anatol ...

, aka GAP, several dams were constructed in the area and surrounding regions as part of a larger agricultural and economic initiative by the Turkish Government. The town of Halfeti was among those settlements, ancient and contemporary, that would remain under the rising water levels of the local dams and rivers following the execution of the GAP. Until the area was flooded in 1999, the people lived from fishing in the

and farming on the riverbank, especially growing pistachios. Some buildings, including the jail, were pulled down and rebuilt in the new town. The old town of Halfeti is only partially submerged and is now a local tourist attraction, especially for ferry trips to visit the ruins of the nearby fortress of

Rumkale Rumkale ( ''Roman Castle''), also known as Urumgala, is a fortress on the Euphrates, located in the province of Gaziantep and 50 km west of Şanlıurfa. Its strategic location was already known to the Assyrians, although the present struc ...

. The countryside is also attractive, although the green valley of the past is now underwater. Opposite Halfeti stood the village of Kale Meydanı, which was also submerged, but the large landowners house was taken and reconstructed in the grounds of

Harran University Harran University ( tr, Harran Üniversitesi) is a state university in Şanlıurfa, Turkey, founded in 1992. History Şanlıurfa is the homecity of Harran University. It is one of the oldest settlements in the world, with its history going bac ...

. File:NewHalfeti.jpg, The town of ''Eski Halfeti'' (Old Halfeti), partially submerged by the rising waters of the Birecik Dam File:Oldhalfetiunderwater.jpg, The town of ''Eski Savaşan Köyü'' (Old Savaşan Köyü), partially submerged under the rising waters of the Birecik Dam File:Mosque of Halfeti 01.jpg, Mosque of Eski Halfeti File:Fortress of Rumkale 03.jpg, Fortress of

Villages and quarters

Halfeti is composed of the following villages and urban quarters, each headed by a

mukhtar A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the muk ...

Politics

In the 31 March 2019 local elections, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Şeref Albayrak, was elected mayor with 54.92% of the votes. His first rival Peoples' Democratic Party's candidate Abdurrahman Çiftçi obtained 37.56% of votes. The current

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained a ...

is Selami Korkutata.

Notable people

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

(born 1949), Kurdish politician , nationalist and founder of the Kurdish Workers Party. *

Müslüm Gürses Müslüm Gürses (; 5 July 1953 – 3 March 2013), born Müslüm Akbaş and called Müslüm Baba (literally: ''Father'' ''Müslüm''), was a popular Turkish arabesque singer and actor. Personal life He was born on 7 May 1953 in an adobe hut in ...

(1953–2013), musician *

Osman Öcalan Osman Öcalan (14 August 1958 - 15 November 2021) was a Turkish- Kurdish militant, politician, and ex-commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Biography The younger brother of Abdullah Öcalan, Osman studied at teachers' training college be ...

(1958–2021), Kurdish military commander *

Dilek Öcalan Dilek Öcalan (born 3 October 1987) is a Kurdish politician of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who served as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Şanlıurfa, Turkey, from 2015 to 2018. She is the niece of Abdullah Öcalan, t ...

(born 1987), politician

References

{{Districts of Turkey, provname=Şanlıurfa Populated places in Şanlıurfa Province Populated places on the Euphrates River Districts of Şanlıurfa Province Kurdish settlements in Turkey Cittaslow