RESIDENTS of the ancient city of Hasankeyf in Turkey said it was not too late to save it from flooding, as they continued a desperate appeal for intervention from the international community.

They were joined by environmental campaigners and activists who called for pressure on global institutions to stop the 12,000-year-old city from being submerged as part of a controversial government dam project.

The Turkish government has warned that flooding could happen at any time.

Speaking at a “Keep Hasankeyf Alive” concert and rally in Istanbul — a city still buoyant after the defeat of former prime minister Binali Yildirim in Sunday’s rerun mayoral election — Mesopotamia News journalist Metin Yoksu said it was not too late to stop the destruction of the city.

“The people living in the region are getting their strength from people like you,” he told the crowds.

“If the intelligentsia and the artists believe that it is not too late for Hasankeyf and give messages to the people there, we can save Hasankeyf.”

Today one of the most famous caves in the area was buried in concrete as work continues on the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The plans will lead to as many as 80,000 people being displaced.

Local tour guide Sehmus Turgay lamented that the 10,000-year history of the cave, close to Hasankeyf Bazaar, “was destroyed for a dam that has a lifecycle of 50 years.”

“We don’t know what to do any more. We are being pushed out of these lands we were born on and nobody is happy about this,” he said.

The high-cost Illisu dam is one of dozens that are due to swallow up Hasankeyf under the guise of “energy and irrigation.”

Critics allege that many of the contracts for the construction projects are being awarded to supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They say the project is actually about security, making it harder for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party to operate in the area.

Campaigners warned that the flooding of surrounding villages is part of a deliberate plan to “dehumanise the region.”

It would also hand the Turkish state control over regional supplies. The Tigris river is the main source of water for most major cities in Iraq and parts of Syria, along with the Kurdish region of Turkey.

Activists urged the international community to join protest action on July 14 when they will launch a “mass jump” into the Tigris at Hasankeyf.