GAP and the Atatürk Dam

The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) is a large multi-sector programme launched in the 1980s to develop the region. It includes 22 dams and 19 hydropower plants on the Euphrates and Tigris.

Its centrepiece is the Atatürk Dam in Şanlıurfa province (early 1990s), one of the largest rock-fill dams in the world. The Şanlıurfa tunnels carry water from its reservoir to irrigate the Harran plain, which has become a major producer of cotton and other crops.

GAP plays an important part in Türkiye's electricity generation and has spurred industry, education and tourism in the region.