Talk:Tomb of Suleyman Shah/Translation of 2003 Agreement between Syria and Turkey

 The Main Agreement on the implementation of a project to strengthen Süleyman Shah shrine between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic

The Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, believing that the bonds of friendship and historical and cultural ties and the similarity of traditions between the two peoples establish the necessary ground for the development of cooperation in various fields, and in accordance with the agreements concluded in this regard, have agreed to the items listed below on the implementation of a project to strengthen Süleyman Shah shrine, as follows:

1 The Turkish side has prepared a plan within the framework of Turkish-Syrian cooperation to strengthen the Tomb of Süleyman Shah in the area of Karakozak, Syria, from the effects of the waters of the Lake at Teşrin بمایاه Dam, which was built by the Syrian side.

2. Syria will cooperate with Turkey in the implementation of projects related to the fortifications of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah in accordance with the following:

a) the work to install the necessary pavement outside the garden walls of the shrine, in addition to connecting the shrine road on the Syrian side to the Aleppo-Al Hasakah highway.

b) the work to install bored piles under the shrine, including all construction work, restoration, strengthening, repairs and building activities mentioned in Article VI to be provided by the Turkish side within the garden walls of the shrine.

3. Financial responsibilities for the activities to be carried out in accordance with the cooperation provisions mentioned above will be borne by the party that performs the action.

4. The Tomb of Süleyman Shah Fortification Project is contained in this master agreement and the Technical Protocol Annex, which will be tendered for signature after it is finalized. In the event that the project is not fully realized in accordance with the execution of the protocol, the Turkish side will not undertake to claim damages from the Syrian side arising from the effects of the waters of the Lake at Teşrin بمایاه Dam upon the Süleyman Shah shrine.

5. During the implementation of the construction of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah Fortification Project, if archaeological works of historical value are found, the Turkish side will undertake not to damage or move them according to the Syrian laws and to act in accordance with regulations, and commits not to harm the works. The Syrian side will undertake the examination and studies of the works as soon as possible and commits to minimize delays in the implementation.

6. Due to the fact that the police station located inside the Süleyman Shah shrine is in a condition of being unavailable for use from the effects of the waters of the lake at Teşrin بمایاه Dam, the Turkish side will demolish the existing station building and re-construct the station building instead. A single-story station building will be constructed. The floor space will not exceed 290 square meters. The ground floor base elevation from the west, north and east will be 330.50 meters.

7. In order to complete the work on the proposed Tomb of Süleyman Shah Project appropriately and in accordance with the technology used in the implementation of this project, the Turkish side, if necessary, may summon Turkish technical control engineers. A Syrian technical employee shall make occasional field trips to the project site during the construction work in order to validate the implementation of the provisions of this Agreement and Technical Protocol Annex.

8. In order to implement the project to strengthen the Süleyman Shah shrine before the aggravation of any existing damage, the Syrian side will build the shortest and most direct route to connect the access road from the Aleppo-Al Hasakah main highway to the garden walls around the tomb and also install the necessary pavement, within four months of the effective date of this Agreement.

9. The Syrian side is to secure and allocate approximately 15,000 square meters of land, electricity and water connections needed for the Turkish construction of the project so that the water and electricity are available within four months of the effective date of this Agreement.

10. A technical protocol that is prepared to specify the relevant details of the project to strengthen the Tomb of Süleyman Shah and to identify actions that will be implemented by the Syrian and Turkish sides will be part of the framework of the project and an integral part of this Main Agreement.

11. After the technical protocol mentioned above is finalized, the Turkish side will tender it, and the Parties will sign and execute the protocol as soon as it is definitively announced.

12. Any facilities necessary for the implementation of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah project construction will be provided in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations of Syria.

13. The Turkish side will transmit requests for financial and administrative facilities needed during the implementation of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah project to the Syrian side through diplomatic channels, and the Syrian side shall examine them carefully.

14. Differences that may arise between the Parties during the implementation of this Main Agreement and technical annex will be resolved through direct negotiations between the two sides.

15. The Main Agreement and technical protocol attached to it shall enter into force from the date of completion of ratification procedures, as required by the legislation in force in both countries, and after the mutual approval notification through diplomatic channels.

16. The Main Agreement and additional technical protocol was signed on 22 January 2003 in Ankara by the following named persons, each duly commissioned by their respective Governments, on two original copies of the text in the Turkish and Arabic languages, both valid and of equal force.

For the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic,

Dr. Mohamed Khaled Al ______

Foreign Ministry, Director General of Consular Affairs

For the Government of the Republic of Turkey,

Ambassador UMUR Apay you

General Manager, Agrarian Reform Institute TC

Technical Protocol on the Implementation of Project to Strengthen Süleyman Shah Shrine

I. The two sides agree to implement the items listed below in the context of the Main Agreement, as a result of the record of events conducted in Ankara between 20 and 22 January 2003, to strengthen the Tomb of Süleyman Shah from the effects of the water of the lake at Teşrin بمایاه Dam.

Both parties agree to implement the actions described separately below for the implementation of a project to strengthen the Tomb of Süleyman Shah:

(a) The work to be performed by the Syrian side:

(1) Construct a new access road to connect the shrine directly to the Aleppo-Al Hasakah Road via the shortest route to arrive at the shrine. The road will start from the door of the tomb guardhouse and will run in parallel to the existing electricity poles at an elevation of 327.00 m and a width of 6.00 meters in accordance with the required applicable standards. In order to maintain the soundness of the road on a permanent basis, cracks and settling that may occur will be repaired without delay. The road shall be kept available at all times during the construction period.

(2) Build a temporary work platform outside the shrine's garden wall for the piling construction, in order to prevent the sinking of the natural ground in the course of movement of the machines that will drive the piles. The work platform will have an elevation of 327.00 m above sea level, a width of 10.00 meters, and be constructed to resist and withstand waves of the lake, especially from the southwest, west and northwest. Maintenance and repair of damage to the work platform will be performed without delay throughout the construction period.

(3) Allocate land for a temporary work area of 15,000 square meters throughout the planned duration of the implementation work of the Tomb Strengthening Project, in which to park the machines, to perform maintenance and repair, storage of required materials, screening and concrete batching plant facilities near the tomb, as well as power and water connections that are close to the shrine and the highway.

(4) Provide administrative assistance to the Turkish side during the procurement of building materials, such as sand, gravel and stone, preferably from local sources in Syria, at the expense of the Turkish side, including defined provisions for inspection at purchase and delivery.

(5) Provide all types of assistance within the framework of the provisions of the applicable laws for the entry and exit of people, vehicles, tools and materials, into Syria in order to implement the project.

(b) Work to be performed by the Turkish side:

(1) Bore under and install piles 80 cm in diameter intersecting the garden wall of the Tomb.

(2) Install tension piles (each 100 cm in diameter), in order to ensure the anchoring of intersecting piles under the Tomb garden.

(3) Install a safety fence with a height greater than 2.00 m on top of a perimeter wall made of reinforced concrete with a head beam elevation of 328.00 m.

(4) Install drainage around the entire length of the perimeter wall of the shrine.

(5) Fill with soil up to 327.00 m elevation, as needed, and landscape the portions of land remaining within the perimeter walls of the shrine.

(6) Reproduce the charity fountain in the front section of the tomb, to be destroyed due to construction by the Turkish side, in the same place after the completion of the construction.

(7) Repair cracks in the foundation of the shrine building from the trend of the shrine building to sink as a result of the effect of water of the lake behind the dam; also, restore the shrine building.

(8) Construct a biological treatment plant for the purpose of purification of the building's waste water. The Turkish side will, from time to time by means of a vacuum truck, discharge accumulated solid waste to an appropriate place designated by Syria.

(9) Pay for electrical power that will be used by the Turkish side during the construction work.

II. During the construction, the wall surrounding the garden of the shrine, representing the land borders of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah, will be torn down to build the work platform. Because of this, the (border [Arabic], or, permanent coordinates [Turkish]) of the wall surrounding the land of the shrine will be determined by the WGS84 coordinate system, and the location of the pile system that will be built later will be jointly staked according to the agreed coordinates. Following the ratification of the Main Agreement, the land studies will be carried out by the joint technical delegation of both parties to be formed, in order to survey the land within the (limits [Arabic], or, boundary [Turkish]) of the Süleyman Shah shrine.

During the performance of the (border [Arabic], or, boundaries [Turkish]) study:

(a) In order to specify the boundary of the land outside the tomb so as not to change in the long term, landmark coordinates based on the WGS84 coordinate system will be determined at the outer corners of the perimeter wall surrounding the land of the Tomb.

(b) Geodetic studies will be performed to create a triangulated network of reference points that will be established for the shrine on a permanent basis. The coordinates will be calculated according to the WGS84 coordinate system.

(c) At the stage of construction of the work platform, the coordinates at the outside corner points of the wall will be determined, to represent the future permanent boundary markers (boundary stones [Turkish], or, limits [Arabic]).

(d) Metal stakes or pipes will be used as permanent landmarks. For the protection of the metal stakes or pipes that will be planted outside the perimeter wall and to connect them permanently to the piling system, poured concrete will be cylindrically formed around the metal stakes or pipes, at the established benchmark elevation of 328.00 m.

(e) Documentation of the network of the triangulated WGS84 system coordinates of the wall points (border references [Arabic], or, boundary marks [Turkish]) that are established in this way for the Parties' Technical Protocol will be signed by the committee and subsequently will constitute one of the annexes of the Technical Protocol of the Main Agreement which will be prepared in accordance with Article 11.

(f) Any type of boundary-measuring device to be used by the Turkish Technical Committee in its study will be brought into Syria and returned at the conclusion of its work.

III. The Turkish side will provide to the Syrian side a file containing the plans for the current site of the tomb of Süleyman Shah and area surrounding it, including:

a) 1:50,000 scale topographic maps,

b) 1:1,000 scale site plan,

c) 1:2,000 scale site plan showing the connector road to be built between the Süleyman Shah Tomb and the Aleppo-al Hasakah highway,

d) 1:1,000 scale site plan showing the location of the staging area to be allocated to the Turkish side,

e) cross sections and longitudinal sections of the road connection that will be built at the site of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah,

f) layout drawings showing the work platform to be built around the Tomb of Süleyman Shah.

IV. Turkish side will prepare preliminary design drawings of the building, which will be reproduced and transmitted to the Syrian side through diplomatic channels as soon as possible.

For the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic,

Ibrahim Jassim Al ________, Engineer Colonel

Head of the Syrian Delegation

Manager, بمایاه Dam

For the Government of the Republic of Turkey,

Ilker ARISOY, Engineer

Chairman of the Technical Committee of Turkey

This Technical Protocol forms part of the Main Agreement on the implementation of a project to strengthen the site of the Tomb of Süleyman Shah between the Government of Turkey and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and enters into force simultaneously with the Main Agreement.