Hevsel Gardens and the Diyarbakır Fortress are located in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakır. The beautiful gardens lie in an area of 700 hectares and their history dates back to the Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Artuqid, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. However the site is threatened by pollution due to visitors and construction workers dumping their rubbish.

The Tigris River passes through the gardens, and they are home to many animal species, but they are seriously polluted by visitors. As seen in the images, some parts of the gardens have been turned into a rubbish tip due to masks, plastic water bottles, alcohol bottles and carrier bags.

Part of the land is also polluted by building debris. The pollution is destroying the habitats of living species, and it also smells bad. It is remarked that there are no activities to collect rubbish in the area.