Hasankeyf Museum to feature ancient artifacts

BATMAN

Some of the most compelling treasures from the early ages of civilization will soon be open to tourists at Hasankeyf Museum in southeastern Turkey’s Batman province.

The museum, located in Batman’s Hasankeyf town, includes historical artifacts that were excavated by archaeological teams as part of the Ilisu Dam, part of the Southeastern Anatolia, or GAP, Project. 

Built on 60,000 square meters, the museum will display artifacts dating back to the paleolithic, neolithic, chalcolithic, bronze, iron and medieval eras at the exhibitions. 

While the objects will be displayed in chronological order, visual animations related to the periods they belong to will give visitors the feeling of “living in the period” they are walking through. 

Wax sculptures will also attract visitors by demonstrating the lifestyles of people who lived thousands of years ago by the Tigris River. 

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Faruk Bülent Baygüven, district governor of Hasankeyf, said the museum will shed light on the history of the region.

 Baygüven said the museum will also display historical artifacts from different provinces of the region, including Batman, Mardin, Siirt, Şırnak and Diyarbakır. 

“When the artifacts start to be exhibited, our museum will be flooded by visitors. The museum will make a great contribution to the tourism of Hasankeyf. The artifacts in this museum will bring visitors from all over the world,” he said. 

Baygüven said the two-storey museum will be opened soon, without giving an exact inauguration day. 

Hasankeyf, 32 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital Batman, was declared a conservation area in 1981.There are nearly 6,000 caves around the town that contain the remnants of Christian and Muslim worship places, as well as a Byzantine fortress.