In Istanbul's Başakşehir district, Şamlar Mahallesi, which was transformed from a village status to a neighborhood in 2013, partially became submerged under the waters of Sazlıdere Dam, construction of which began in 1996.
Aware that a part of the old village site would be submerged, the villagers relocated the bodies from the cemetery to other cemeteries, while some graves were left behind.
With the complete submersion of the settlement, it is known that the area that has been a dam for 27 years is actually the former Şamlar Village.
This year, increasing temperatures and drought in Istanbul led to many dams reaching critical low levels.
According to Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKİ) data, the water level of Sazlıdere Dam dropped to 15.4 percent.
As the water level decreased, the historical Şamlar Village resurfaced.
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As the water receded, the entrance gate of the historical cemetery, surrounded by walls, and dozens of graves inside became visible, dating back centuries.
Mahir Gönen, a 69-year-old native of Şamlar Mahallesi, shared: "My ancestors were from here. I found the tombstone of my great-grandfather's great-grandmother in that cemetery
She passed away in 1854. Of course, we couldn't read what was written on the stone, we had to show it to someone who knew and understood what it meant.
The name of Şamlar Village comes from a region in Damascus. When Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Istanbul, people from there settled there, and that became the first settlement, and the name came from there.
The area that is now submerged used to be a big neighborhood. It reappeared when the water receded. My father, grandmother, and grandfather, all our elders were in that cemetery, but we later relocated them."
