Birecik

Birecik is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on the River Euphrates. Birecik is a small village on the Euphrates close to the Syrian border that has long been famous among ornithologists as a site for Northern Bald Ibis. The colony once bred on cliffs above the village but although free-flying ibis can still be seen in the area there are no longer any truly wild birds present.

The ibis breeding station is run by the WWF and has a resident warden. It is located on the eastern bank just north of Birecik. The land along the river is heavily cultivated but there are patches of dense scrub in some areas and on sandbanks in the river. Away from the river the land is mainly scrub-covered and rocky hillsides and semi-desert with wadis.

Birecik is a very rich area of rare habitats and birds. Pistachio orchards, woods along the river Euphrates (Fırat) and calcerous wadis are home to Bald Ibis, See-see Partridge, Pallid Scops Owl, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Bimaculated Lark, Upcher’s and Ménétries’s Warbler, Iraq Babbler, Dead Sea Sparrow, Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, Pale Rockfinch and Desert Finch.

Birecik is the only accessible site for the rare Iraq Babbler.

Birecik Dam and hydroelectric power plant, part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project is situated within the district. The Roman city of Zeugma is now drowned in the reservoir behind the dam. Zeugma’s famous mosaics, including the ‘river god’, have been taken to Gaziantep Museum, but some rescued remains of Zeugma are exhibited in Birecik. With its rich architectural heritage, Birecik is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.

The Northern Bald Ibis used to nest here and winter in the deserts of Arabia, up to 1,000 pairs in the 1960s. Now a few dozen birds remain and these no longer migrate but remain protected year-round in Birecik.

Birecik is a bridge across the Euphrates and a useful stopping place on the road from Şanlıurfa to Gaziantep, with waterside restaurants.

The Birecik hydro-electric dam is part of Turkey’s South Eastern Anatolian (water development) Project, which when completed will consist of 25 irrigation systems, 22 dams and 19 hydroelectricity stations. Located 92 km downstream from the Ataturk dam, construction of the Birecik dam began in 1996.