Damming
the Euphrates To
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Turkey Length: 26 min300k300k
In June 2000, the world media gave extensive coverage to the flooding
of the Euphrates River behind a dam in southeast Turkey. As the waters
rose, Zeugma, an important Roman city containing high quality mosaics,
was inundated in the Euphrates' depths. At the same time, towns and villages
disappeared beneath the new lake. Raising questions of government policies
and sustainable development, this film tells the story of the mosaics
as well as that of the displaced people, some of whom turned to antiquities
trafficking to replace lost income.