Medieval castle reappears after Yusufeli Dam water released
ARTVIN
The remains of the flooded Tekkale village and its castle have resurfaced after authorities released water from the northeastern province of Artvin's Yusufeli Dam, Türkiye's highest dam, as a precautionary measure.
The construction of the Yusufeli Dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Çoruh River in Artvin, whose operation started on Feb. 26, 2013, has been completed.
During the dam construction process, the people of Yusufeli moved from their submerged villages to newly built settlements.
On Nov. 22, 2022, the dam, which started to retain water, submerged the Yusufeli district center and the villages of Yeniköy, Tekkale, Irmakyanı, Çeltikdüzü, Çevreli, İşhan and Meşecik. In the Yusufeli Dam, which will have an installed capacity of 558 megawatts and an annual energy production of 1.888 billion kilowatt-hours, 1.5 billion cubic meters of water was stored.
As a precaution, some of the water in the dam was released. As the water level dropped by about 30 meters, houses, schools and roads of Tekkale village and the Tekkale village castle, which is believed to have been built on the steep rock in the Middle Ages, came to light.
Those who came to the village to see the old settlements closely had emotional moments and reminisced their memories.
"I was born and raised here. Our memories were submerged. With the decrease in the water level in the dam, our flooded village has resurfaced. We are also coming here to refresh our memories," said Mithat Demirkıran, who visited his submerged village.
Nazire Demirkıran, who came to the village with her husband, said, "I came to Tekkale village as a bride. When I came here, there were rumors that a dam would be built. Many years later, the dam was built, and our village was submerged. My husband and his family have many memories here. I feel very sorry for people who had to leave the village.”
With a body height of 275 meters, Yusufeli is the highest dam in Türkiye and the fifth-highest dam in the world.