A 15th century mosque in Turkey has been split into three parts and transported by self-propelled robots to its new home.
Construction workers had to break the walls apart which had been held together for hundreds of years so that they could winch the pieces of the mosque onto platforms for transport.
The final 2,500 ton part of the Eyyubi Mosque was taken out of the ancient town of Hasankeyf in Turkey’s Batman province after the other two sections were moved earlier this year.
The move comes as Turkey’s fourth biggest dam, Ilısu, is expected to submerge the ancient town of Hasankeyf under swathes of floodwater, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
Pictures show the final section of the mosque being hauled in its mile-long journey by powerful robots using more than 300 wheels.
The 4,600 tons of mosque has been relocated to the Hasankeyf New Cultural Park Field, a special site designated for the protected structures.
Along with the 610-year-old mosque other cultural artifacts are being removed to the site which was created in 2017.
A colossal stone work called the Zeynel Bey Shrine was moved using similar technology last year.
The Mayor of Hasankeyf Abdulvahap Kusen said: ‘Works are continuing for the artifacts not to be damaged due to the [flood] waters. The ancient artefacts will come together in the Culture Park near the new residential area,’ the Turkish daily reported.
The town of Hasankeyf was given protected status in 1981 and is home to nearly 6,000 caves.
In addition to the mosque there are other historic structures of Christian and Muslim worship, as well as an ancient Byzantine fortress.
The history of the town can be traced by across nine civilisations and is first mentioned in texts dating back almost 2,000 years before the birth of Christ.