Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – December 21, 1996

I woke up in the morning and did not sleep again. Mr. Demirel came at eight o'clock. We went to the airport together. We were supposed to go by helicopter, like yesterday, but it didn't work because of the fog. We flew with him and by plane to the city of [Sanli] Orfa. On the way, Mr. Demirel explained about the Gap project, which we went to see.

At the airport, the provincial officials and a group of people welcomed the city. I spoke a few sentences to them. I had come here on my previous trip. With helicopters from space, we saw the plain of Haran, the historical city of Haran, the city of Urfa, and an area where they say, Hazrat Ibrahim was thrown into the fire. Orfa has grown a lot compared to five years ago. We landed at the place of the great Atatürk Dam. First, we saw a film of the works of the Gap project, and then we heard the officials' explanations. The Gap plan is designed to control the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates and develop the nine provinces of southeastern Turkey, which is supposed to invest 32 billion dollars, of which 12 billion dollars have been done so far.

Atatürk Dam with 48 billion cubic meters of water and 2.4 thousand megawatts of electricity and one million hectares of irrigation is a part of it; Honestly, it is an important thing. I asked questions and spoke a few words of praise. They gave a gift [= a robe and a tray]. We went and saw the dam power plant. Still, the water passes to Syria at a thousand meters per second, which is huge; Syria should not be worried. We flew to the airport. On the way, we saw pistachio fields in the Minaqli plain of Orfa, as well as the exit of two huge water transfer tunnels from the lake to the back of Haran, etc.

From the airport, Mr. Demirel flew to Ankara and my companions and I flew to Izmir. I had a break on the way and we talked about the elections with Mr. Velayati. He said that Mr. Natiq [Nuri]'s friends suggested him to accept the position of first deputy, but he did not accept it. Because he prefers the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the evening, we arrived in Izmir with the welcome of the governor, mayor, city representative, consulting minister and other officials. We all went to Efes Hotel, which belongs to the [Türkiye] Retirement Organization. After resting, praying and having dinner in this hotel, I got a lot of information about the state of the province, while having dinner and the length of the route. Mr. Demirel greeted by phone from Ankara. I read the reports. Chastity and children have arrived before us.