Hasankeyf is an ancient town and district located along the Tigris River in the Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981. Kurdish people form the majority in this city.

It is an ancient city. The Romans had built the Cephe fortress on the site and the city became the Kiphas fortress and a bishopric under the Byzantine Empire. It was conquered by the Arabs, in ca. 640, renamed Hisn Kayf. In the 12th century, the city was successively captured by the Artukids as their capital. During this period, Hasankeyf's golden age, the Artukids and Ayyubids built the Old Tigris Bridge, the Small Palace and the Great Palace. The infrastructure, location and significance of the city helped increase trade and made Hasankeyf a staging post on the Silk Road. The Ayyubids (descendants of Saladin) captured the city in 1232 and built the mosques that made Hasankeyf an important Islamic center.

The city was captured and sacked by the Mongols in 1260. The city would rise from its ashes though as summer homes for Ak Koyunlu emirs were built. Following the Ottoman ascendancy established by Selim I in the region in the early 16th century, the city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1515, during Sultan Suleyman I's campaign of Irakeyn (the two Iraqs, e.g. Arabian and Persian) in 1534, at the same time as Diyarbakir, Mosul, Baghdad and Basra.

The current population of Hasankeyf is Kurdish, Assyrians/Syriacs and Arabs also had a presence in the town. Its Syriac Christian population was almost entirely annihilated during the Seyfo genocide in the First World War.

Hasankeyf is rich in history throughout the ages and aside from the sites below, thousands of caves exist in the cliffs that surround the city. Many of the caves are multi-storied and water-supplied. Churches and mosques were also carved into the cliffs and numerous ancient cemeteries exist throughout the area as well.

The Old Tigris Bridge, built in 1116 by Artukid Fahrettin Karaaslan, replaced an older bridge. The bridge over the Tigris River is considered to be the largest from the Medieval Period. Support for the bridge was built with wood in case the bridge had to be removed in order to prevent an attack. Because of this, two piles and some foundation work are all that exist of the bridge today.

• The Citadel: This structure sits 100m above the Tigris River, overlooking Hasankeyf. The Citadel has likely been used as a dwelling place for centuries.
• Small Palace: This palace was built by the Ayyubids and overlooks Hasankeyf as it sits on a cliff.
• Ulu Mosque: Built by the Ayyubids in 1325, on-top of a church's remains.
• Great Palace: The palace was built by the Artukids; it occupies an area of 2,350m² and has an associated rectangular tower that may have been a watchtower.
• El Rizk Mosque: The Mosque was built in 1409 by the Ayyubid sultan Suleyman and stands on the bank of the Tigris River. The mosque also has a minaret that has remained intact.
• Suleyman Mosque: This mosque was built by Sultan Suleyman and is all but destroyed except for a minaret. Suleyman's grave is missing from the site as well.
• Koc Mosque: The mosque is located east of the Suleyman Mosque and was likely built by the Ayyubids.
• Kizlar Mosque: Located east of the Koc Mosque, the Kizlar mosque was also likely from the Ayyubid period as well. The section of the structure which is used as a mosque today was a mausoleum in the past, containing grave remnants.
• Imam Abdullah Tomb: This cube-shaped tomb lies west of the new bridge in Hasankeyf and it the tomb of 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.
• Zeynel Bey Mausoleum: Named after Zeynel Bey, this mausoleum is opposite Hasankeyf on the Tigris River. Bey was the son of Uzun Hassan ruler of the Akkoyunlu Dynasty which ruled over Hasankeyf in the 15th century.

With its history that spans nine civilizations, the archaeological and religious significance of Hasankeyf is considerable. Some of the city's historical treasures will be inundated if construction of the Ilisu Dam is completed. These include the ornate mosques, Islamic tombs and cave churches.

According to the Bugday Association, based in Turkey, Ms. Huriye Kupeli, the prefect of Hasankeyf, the Swiss ambassador to Turkey and representatives of the Swiss led consortium of contractors for the dam project have suggested what they believe to be a suitable nearby spot for moving the historical heritage of Hasankeyf, an operation for which the Turkish Ministry of Culture pledges to provide 30 million euros.

The threat of the Ilisu Dam project prompted the World Monuments Fund to list the city on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world. It is hoped that this listing will create more awareness of the project and prompt the Ilisu Consortium to develop alternate plans that are more sympathetic to this site of exceptional historical and cultural significance.

In December 2008, following pressure from campaign groups, export credit insurers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland announced suspending their support for the project amid concern about its environmental and cultural impact and gave the Turkish government 180 days to meet standards set by the World Bank. These standards were 153 requirements on environmental protection, resettlement of villages, protection of cultural heritage, and resource management with neighbouring states. As Turkey did not fulfil any of them, the three ECAs indicated in a joint press release issued on 7 July 2009 that they withdrew from the project. Shortly after, in another joint press release issued on the same day, the three banks (Société Générale, UniCredit and DekaBank) financing the Ilisu Dam project also stated - in line with the decision of the ECAs - that the export credit granted by the three banks for the construction of the Ilisu Dam would no longer be available.

This meant that Turkey has had to finance the proposed project with internal sources. The Minister of Forestry and Environment, Veysel Eroglu, on a number of platforms, declared that the government would build the Dam despite all obstacles - and objections. That the Ilisu Dam has become a "project of honour" for the Turkish State has been made very clear by Eroglu. "We do not need their money. We will construct this dam at any cost." Since 2009 the construction has proceeded with the financial support of Turkish banks; Garanti Bankasi and Akbank. As a result of the resettlement program for the population, many residents of Hasankeyf moved to a Yeni Hasankeyf (New Hasankeyf) on a hill which was to be at the shore of the dam reservoir after the construction of the dam is terminated. By July 2020, the ancient town was completely submerged in the waters of the damn.