Hasankeyf is an ancient Turkish town of extraordinary beauty. Its network caves contains mosques, Islamic tombs and churches carved into them. It is, in that over used phrase, a place of historic importance, but is at threat from a dam project. This is a record of how it stands today.

The ancient approach is lined with rows of shops cut into the soft rock; nearby are many rock-cut houses, some of which were still inhabited a generation ago. Hasankeyf owes part of its charm to the combination of these and public monuments: the Little Palace with its single vaulted room, the Palace proper with a narrow tower that crests the diff top, and the recently restored Ayyubid Mosque above this. The beautifully carved gravestones south of the mosque are partly veiled by waving grasses. Elsewhere there are drifts of wild fowers…

Shot for The ‘ART BOOK’ Autumn 2014