ABSTRACT
The Southeastern Anatolia Development Project (GAP in its Turkish acronym) is one of the world’s largest and most ambitious regional development projects, which includes not only a giant water resources development plan, but also largescale investment in a wide range of development-related sectors such as agriculture, energy, transportation, telecommunications, health care, education, as well as urban and rural infrastructure. What started largely as giant dams and hydroelectric projects in the 1950s have evolved into a sophisticated integrated regional development strategy to improve the social and economic fabric of southeastern Anatolia.
