Sur witnessed the world’s longest curfew between 2015 and 2016. On December 2, 2015, six neighborhoods were sealed off with iron barricades. Entry was barred until late 2022, after which a state-led “reconstruction” process began.

 

At the time, then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu promised to make Sur “like Toledo,” but the result was not cultural revival—it was widespread destruction and displacement. Dozens of historical structures, including churches, mosques, baths, and registered cultural heritage buildings, were demolished. 

 

According to a 2019 report by the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), 3,569 structures were destroyed, including 334 officially registered ones. Activists believe the actual number is much higher.

 

A JOURNEY THROUGH ERASURE AND RESISTANCE

 

The documentary reveals how uniform, prison-like buildings were erected in place of historic homes. Fenced-in, grey structures now dominate once-vibrant neighborhoods. Business areas were handed over to private investors, and promotional campaigns featured mannequins brought from outside the region—transforming the streets into staged showcases detached from their roots.

 

Bîra Sûrê takes viewers on a journey from the narrow stone alleys of the old town to the sterile, surveilled “new” neighborhoods. It documents not only physical destruction but also the cultural and social loss—the erasure of memory, the silencing of voices, and the dismantling of community life.

 

Walls surrounding the remnants of the “old” are shown as more than architectural divisions—they symbolize an imposed future that denies the past. Testimonies from displaced residents, the silence of streets now filled with “strangers,” and the eerie atmosphere of imposed order invite a deep reckoning.

 

A COLLECTIVE WORK OF MEMORY

 

Directed by Mezopotamya Agency (MA) editor Azad Altay, Bîra Sûrê was produced with support from MA, the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association, PEL Production, and filmmaker Veysi Altay. Filming began in mid-2021, with contributions from several journalists.

 

Bîra Sûrê is not just a documentary—it is the story of an ongoing erasure, and the memory that continues to resist.