Relocating an old church weighing 1,700 tons by truck

The 600-year-old mosque was put on a 256-wheel truck, moved to a new location 4.7km away.

Engineers move the Er-Rizk church in the ancient town of Hasankeyf, Batman province, southeast Turkey, on December 16. The relocation to protect this historic building from flooding when the nearby Ilısu dam was completed and put into operation.

The relocation is intended to protect this historic building from flooding.

Er-Rizk Church was built in the early 1400s, according to Ali Naci Kosali, manager at the Turkish Hydraulic Authority (DSI). DSI is the agency involved in the construction of the Ilısu Dam and the hydroelectric plant on the Tigris River.

The main building of the church is transported by a 256-wheel flatbed truck to Hasankeyf Cultural Park in the same province of Batman, 4.7 km from the old site. The transportation process lasts about 7 hours. Earlier, the engineers also isolated the cathedral's minaret and relocated.

Turkey declared Hasankeyf, the old town on the banks of the Tigris River, a protected area in 1981. Authorities endeavored to protect all Hasankeyf's important historical buildings by gradually transferring them to the public. Membership before dam construction is completed. Up to now, a total of 6 works have been relocated.