The group stopped to look at the new Ataturk Dam, that has transformed the people’s lives in the Anatolian area……View image. Twenty years ago, this area of Turkey was nothing but Mesopotamian desert and one of the poorest, least developed regions in Turkey. Thanks to irrigation, rapid changes are taking place. The small mud-brick villages are now connected to electrical grids; using their newfound wealth to buy refrigerators and televisions. Seas of green cotton fields along with other crops are blossoming in the desert.

The Ataturk Dam took approximately 10 years to build and is the largest in Turkey supplying electricity and water for irrigation to the Anatolia region from the Euphrates River. There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding this particular Dam. The Euphrates River supplies water downstream to both Syria and Iraq, and Ataturk Dam has cut the flow by about one-third. Both countries claim to be suffering severe water shortages due to this dam.

Oz stated that the Ataturk Dam is the World’s 4th largest. Incorrect according to my research. Dams can be measured by volume, height, size of structure, hydroelectric, etc. According to Infoplease, Ataturk Dam is number 11 and the answers really surprised me. Beginning with number one, the Top 10 dams in the world by volume are: Three Gorges, China; Syncrude Tailings, Canada; Chapeton, Argentina; Pati, Argentina; New Cornelia Tailing, U.S.; Tarbela, Pakiston; Kambaratinsk, Kyrgyzstan; Fort Peck, U.S.; Lower Usuma, Nigeria; and Cipasant, Indonesia. Naturally, China has plans on building the World’s largest dam.

The Ilisu Dam project that will flood the ancient city of Hasankeyf has still another story. This dam will be located on the Tigris River, 45 km/s28 miles from the Syrian border. And again, those countries downriver fear Turkey’s control over the water flow. The Ilisu Dam project prompted Hasankeyf to be placed on the World Monument’s Fund 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World hoping that Turkey would develop other plans for Hasankeyf. Already discussed in the previous article on the Explore group’s visit to Hasankeyf, the dam will displace an estimated 55,000-78,000 people when the town is underwater, create environment damage and destroy thousands of years of archaeological treasures. What to do!