For the people of Hasankeyf, this sleepy, once-mighty town on the banks of the River Tigris is a historic treasure; for those who want to build a massive dam1 here, it is a backwater in need of development.

對Hasankeyf人而言，底格里斯河岸上盛極一時，而今冷冷清清的城鎮是歷史寶庫；對想在此興建大水壩的人，這是需要開發的偏遠落後地區。

In a last desperate effort to halt the dam project due to start at the end of May, opponents have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in France. They are also urging foreign creditors to shun the project.

為阻止五月底就要開始進行的建壩計畫作最後一搏，反對者向法國「歐洲人權法庭」上訴；他們也敦促外國債權人避開這項計畫。

The dam's supporters stress the need to build modern infrastructure, regenerate the poor, southeastern region. The US$1.45 billion project will create 80,000 jobs and lure tens of thousands of tourists to an area hit hard by years of Kurdish rebel conflict. It will inject US$373 million into the Turkish booming economy2 every year（with the energy generated）.

支持建壩者強調，有需要興建現代化基礎工程，讓貧窮的東南地區獲得新生。這項美金十億四千五百萬的計畫，將為這幾年來遭受庫德族叛亂衝突重創的地區創造八萬個工作、吸引數萬觀光客。每年以產生的能源，挹注三億七千三百萬美金，促進土耳其經濟蓬勃發展。

The dam project is part of a decades-old strategy to harness the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Uncertainty over the dam project - first mooted in the 1980s, begun, abandoned, now resumed - has scared away much-needed investment over the years.

這項水壩計畫是數十年策略的一部份，以善用底格里斯河及幼發拉底河。該計畫的不確定性（最初在一九八○年代就討論過，開始後放棄，現在又重新開始），幾年來已嚇跑了迫切需要的投資。

The dam project would swallow up more than 80 villages and hamlets by the time of its planned completion in 2013. The monuments that would be submerged - including mosques and the remains of an ancient bridge spanning the Tigris - will be transported to a purpose-built park and open-air museum nearby. The project allocates US$31 million to protect Hasankeyf's historical heritage3 - a key condition of the Turkish government for backing the scheme.4

在二○一三年計畫竣工前，水壩將吞沒八十多個村莊和部落。可能被淹沒的紀念建築物（包括清真寺，以及一座橫跨底格里斯河的古橋遺蹟）將被遷移到附近一座特意興建的公園和露天博物館。土耳其政府支持這項計畫的主要條件是，提撥三千一百萬美金，以保護Hasankeyf的歷史遺產。