The festival was held until 2015 to commemorate Imam Abdullah in Hasankeyf, but was suspended for 3 years due to the state of emergency declared in 2016. This year it eventually took place. 

Organized by Batman Association, Batman Wildlife Conservation Association, Batman Seyidler and Ehli Beyt Association and Batman Tourism Association, the festival started with the sad commemoration of Imam Abdullah Tumb that was removed a few months back because of the Ilisu Dam and resettled in the new settlement near Hasankeyf.

The festival, which will continue until 16 June will see the participation of local artists who will give concerts every evening.

Opening Concert

Cemo, Ikbal and Yusuf Eren were the local artists in Batman who took the stage at the festival for the opening concert on Monday evening. 

Speaking at the festival attended by many people, Batman Seyidler and Ehli Beyt Association President, Abdulmalik Müjdeci, said that they organized the festival in order to commemorate Imam Abdullah. continuing the tradition of passing down to the next generations continuing to tell the next generations about him.” 

Criticizing the decision to flood Hasankeyf Müjdeci said: "We are here to protect Hasankeyf and its spiritual values. It is a great cultural heritage that humanity can see. Preserving this ancient city intertwined with nature and history should be the interest of every person. It is not too late. We think an alternative to the flooding can be created if the conditions are established.” 

Imam Abdullah

Abdullah was the grandson of Cafer-i Tayyar, uncle of the prophet Mohammad. The tomb is dated to the 14th century and an epitaph on the tomb states that the tomb was restored in the Ayyubid period.