The area here is flat. And the fields look harvested. But somehow white fluff keeps fluttering around. The roadsides are white, almost as if there was some snow left behind.
I look carefully to the right and left, lorries carrying the aforementioned "snow" drive past us. "Gerd," I shout, "I think this is cotton!" He is clearly less interested, my brain cells are linking what I learnt decades ago (I hated materials science in my dressmaking training!) with what I experienced on site. Oh, how lovely. We stop, I run across the fields and take a close look at everything.
Luckily we find an unharvested field, I pick a few bolls and from now on a few cotton fluffies adorn our Felix.
We had no idea that the Şanlıurfa region in south-eastern Turkey offers favourable climatic conditions for growing cotton. The climate is predominantly dry and warm, which is ideal for cotton cultivation. Irrigation is a critical factor, as the region receives relatively little rainfall.
While Gerd leads us past kilometres of fields, I put my knitting aside and start reading aloud.
The Atatürk Dam (where the Euphrates is dammed), one of the largest dams in Turkey, plays a central role in the irrigation of agricultural land in the region.
Even one of the largest dams in the world is a central element of the South-East Anatolia Project (GAP) and unfortunately not all of it is positive. The construction of the dam has led to considerable ecological changes.
The Atatürk Dam controls a significant part of the water of the Euphrates, which has led to tensions with the neighbouring states of Syria and Iraq, which are also dependent on the water of the Euphrates. And: the flooding of areas by the dam has led to the destruction or relocation of several historical and archaeological sites and thus to the loss of important cultural heritage.
These points reflect the complex and often contradictory aspects of major infrastructure projects such as the Atatürk Dam, which offer both economic development opportunities and pose major social, environmental and international challenges.
So I hold my cotton fluff in my hand, continue reading and suddenly we spot a couple of puppies at the side of the road. Gerd slams on the brakes, I leave my cotton wool and mobile phone behind and immediately plunge into the ditch with my dog food bag. The little ones get food en masse and we take a few cuddles in return. They are so cute, we would love to take them all with us, just all of them! But this time we're sticking to our guns, no, none of the little ones will be moving in with us.
Sources: https://www.nzz.ch/international/staudamm-veraendert-lauf-des-tigris-ld.1707879 & https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2022/08/21/iraq-s-fertile-valley-is-dying_5994283_114.html & https://www.anadolukultur.org/EN/35-announcements/1516-new-exhibition-on-diyarbakirs-memory-diyarbakirs-nature-close-up-and-from-a-distance/
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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