In Sazlibosna village, along the planned route of the vast Canal Istanbul project, 68-year-old Yasar Demirkaya fidgets with worn prayer beads as he sips tea at a cafe, uncertain about the future.

Demirkaya, who sells fruit and vegetables at a local market, fears the controversial government-backed project will threaten his small plot of land, erasing the only life he's ever known.

"I inherited a 5,000-square-metre plot from my grandparents," he told AFP. "It could be taken from us.

"I'm worried, everyone is. Nobody knows what to do," he added.

Although Sazlibosna is currently off-limits for development, that could change.

The project was first announced in 2011 by then-premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now president.

Its aim is to ease congestion on the Bosphorus Strait by carving

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