Halfeti () is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province (; ), also known as Urfa Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which be ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 609 km², and its population is 41,662 (2022). It is near the east bank of the river

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

, from the city of

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about east of the Eup ...

. Most of the villages were submerged in the 1990s under the waters behind the dam on the Euphrates at

Birecik Birecik is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 912 km2, and its population is 93,866 (2023). It lies on the Euphrates. Built on a limestone cliff 400 ft. high on the left/east bank of the Euphrates, " ...

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

urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...

wherein the town was the only location on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

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 (, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2023) living in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, Southeastern An ...

, 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. 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 () 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 back to 11,000 years befor ...

. 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 Rumkale

Composition

There are 49

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Halfeti District, each headed by a muhtar: * Altınova * Argaç * Argıl * Aşağıgöğlü * Balaban * Beyburcu * Bitek * Bozyazı * Bulaklı * Çakallı * Çebekoğlu * Cumhuriyet * Dergili * Durak * Dutluca * Erikli * Fırat * Fıstıközü * Gözeli * Gülaçan * Günece * Gürkuyu * Gürlüce * Hilalli * Kalkan * Kantarma * Karaotlak * Kavaklıca * Kayalar * Kınık * Kurugöl * Macunlu * Narlık * Ömerli * Ortayol * Özmüş * Rüştiye * Savaşan * Saylakkaya *

Seldek Seldek, formerly known as Seldik, is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Halfeti, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey.

* Selmanlı * Şimaliye * Sırataşlar * Siyahgül * Sütveren * Tavşanören * Yenimahalle * Yeşilözen * Yukarıgöklü

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 #Names, 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 reta ...

is Zikrullah Erdoğan.

Notable people

* Mehmet Yasin Sani Kutluğ (1889-1973) politician * Şevket Arman (1918-1979) one of the first artists in Turkey * İbrahim Halil Balkıs politician *

Sabiha Gökçen Sabiha Gökçen (; 22 March 1913 – 22 March 2001) was a Turkish aviator. During her flight career, she flew around 8,000 hours and participated in 32 different military operations. She became the world's first female fighter pilot, at age 23. ...

(disputed, 1919-2001) first female fighter pilot * Nuri Sesigüzel (1937-2023) Turkish artist and singer of Kurdish origin *

Melih Gökçek İbrahim Melih Gökçek (; born 20 October 1948) is a Turkish politician who served as the mayor of Ankara from 1994 to 2017. From 1991 to 1994, he was an MP. Gökçek has won municipal elections in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, and was controversial ...

(born 1948) Turkish politician and former mayor of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

(born 1949) Kurdish politician, nationalist and founder of the Kurdish Workers Party. * Arzu Toker (born 1952)

German-speaking German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...

writer, journalist, publicist and translator *

Müslüm Gürses Müslüm Gürses (; 7 May 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 t ...

(1953–2013) musician * Ahmet Kanneci (born 1957) Turkish classical guitar virtuoso * Osman Öcalan (1958–2021) Kurdish military commander * Mehmet Karayilan (born 1969) politician and former mayor of Halfeti town * Kewê (born 1979) Kurdish singer * Bêrîvan Arîn (born 1981) Kurdish singer *

Ömer Öcalan Ömer Öcalan (born 1987) is a former politician of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and a current member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey representing Şanlıurfa for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). Early life and e ...

(born 1987) politician * Dilek Öcalan (born 1987) politician * Sedat Anar (born 1988) Turkish dulcimer artist

References

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