Underwater town with blooming black roses

Underwater town with blooming black roses

during a lunch meal with grilled shabout, a freshwater carp, in one of the floating restaurants of Halfeti, visitors can think about how life was once in the old streets, which are now hidden under the water surface.

The story of Halfeti

Halfeti is one of several settlements in the province of Şanlıurfa in the southeast of Türkiye, which is located on the banks of the Euphrates, relatively close to its source. In 2000, two such cities and ten smaller villages were carried out by the construction of the 200 feet high and 1.5 miles wide Birecik-Studamms completely flooded. About 6,000 locals had to be relocated.

The changes in Halfeti

about 40 % of Halfeti - a city with about 2,600 inhabitants in front of the dam - was devoured by the water. Many of the stone houses, shops and a significant part of the 19th century Merkez Camii (central mosque) were lost in the "old city". However, some higher residential buildings were spared, and many residents live above the waterline today.

the Birecik dam and its effects

The Birecik dam was one of several that were built along the Euphrates and the neighboring Tigris, to develop the region of Southeast Anatolia . The hydropower embankment produces every year 2,500 GWH (Gigawatt hours) Strom-enough to Almost a million Turkish households too supply - and his 20 square miles of large reservoir was planned to water 70,000 hectares of arable land. Despite these obvious advantages, the Birecik dam initially met mixed reactions of the locals.

"Of course it's not easy, because many cemeteries and many houses stayed under water," says Erhan Yildirim, a local researcher, historian and

The change to a tourist hotspot

Today, visitors flock to the "sunken city" to slide with boats, jet skis or even flyboards through the flooded architecture. Diving in Halfeti has also developed into a popular tourist activity, characterized by Şahika, a world record holder in open diving, the 2020 diving to draw attention to the problem of plastic pollution. "You feel the story," says Yildirim and describes the multitude of river fish species and an extensive network of antique, natural limestone caves that are located directly below the surface.

The legendary black roses of Halfeti

there is both life about and under the water. Halfeti is also famous for its "black" roses, which are grown on the banks of the Euphrates. According to legend, Halfeti is the only place in the world where the flowers actually bloom black. "If you add the black rose in another place, it will never give you the same color," says Yildirim.

experts say that the color is not pure black - it is rather a very dark red. "I don't think any so -called black flower is really black," explains the internationally recognized rose specialist Michael Marriott. But he says that some very dark red tones can appear black, especially in the bud stage, before they become brighter when they bloom. It is also the case that the darker the rose blossom, the more danger they are burning in the sun - this means that the flowers can appear darker in sunny regions.

Guy Barter, the chief Horticulturist of the Royal Horticultural Society in the United Kingdom, agrees. "Black roses and black flowers in general are rarely purely black, but rather a very deep chestnut brown or - as in this case - a very, very dark red," he says.
Although internet participants have referred to Halfetis roses as counterfeits, Barter adds with a certain reservation: "Deep chestnut brown or dark or dark form-colored flowers are black enough for all practical purposes, and only very picky people would complain about beautiful and fascinating flowers."

The magical meaning of the black rose

The darkness of the color is attributed to the unique ground conditions in Halfeti. Although most roses are grafted on a common rootstock, which prefers a neutral balance between acid and alkaline, Marriott says that it is possible that the farmers in Halfeti use the original roots of the roses, which better thrive in acidic conditions, which makes the petals darker.

"It must be due to the climatic conditions here," says Birsen Aşağı, who works in the Floating Gift Shop, where products from black roses are sold. Locals such as Aşağı offer a number of products that are infused with black roses, from ice cream to soaps to teas, while international brands also use the attraction of the flower. The British perfumer Penhaligon’s even called its black rose perfume "Halfeti".

aşağı tells a local legend about the importance of the dark rose. The story is about Adir, a renowned local architect who allegedly built the city's mosque. His granddaughter, Vartuhi, is said to have pulled the most beautiful roses in the region. She fell in love with an orphaned boy named Firat, who lived on the other bank of the river, but tragically her love was forbidden by her grandfather. Heart broken jumped the couple together into the Euphrates and drowned. From that day, legend flourished to every single rose in Hallfeti "black" instead of red.

yildirim tells a different story in which the black rose belonged to the devil, which, annoyed by the murder of an innocent girl, explained that she would only bloom where she died - and would be a symbol of grief, revenge and tragic love forever.

story on the water

Visitors to Halfeti can also take a one-hour boat trip along the river to the nearby Rumkale fortress-an old location that reflects the complex and often stormy history of the region.

In the boat, the foundations of the fortress can be seen, which hang dramatically above the river. According to reports, they come from the Byzantinian Rich in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, although some sources indicate that structures may have existed earlier.

The impressive architecture of Rumkale serves as an impressive memory of the historic, complex and often bloody past of the entire region - one that has left its traces in local religion and culture.

In 2013, Halfeti was recognized as part of the cittaslow ("slow city") network, which is his commitment to the preservation of local culture and tradition appreciates. "The people in Halfeti feel deeply connected to the rich history of their city," says Yildirim.