The Güneydogu Anadolu Projesi, or GAP project is a long running government effort to build 22 dams (19 of which are to be coupled with hydroelectric power stations) and irrigate 1,800,000 hectares of South-Eastern Anatolia. The Turkish government’s most public aims are the redevelopment of the region and the harnessing of the country’s powerful natural energy sources - the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers. However, the project has also submerged many settlements - some of global archaeological importance - forcing residents into new-towns, and undermining a delicate yet vital tourism industry. GAP’s geo-political ramifications are also less publicly discussed: bringing neighbouring nations, and the Kurdish population of South East Anatolia, more firmly under Ankara’s influence. Emin Ozmen travelled through the region documenting the submerged towns, and those slated for destruction.