Two terrible earthquakes severely damaged Turkey's rich heritage
The catastrophe, which took a huge number of lives, also affected the plans of tourists who are already in the country or were planning to arrive there soon.
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria early monday morning. The tremors were felt from cities such as Aleppo to southeastern Turkey, where several major population centers were affected. It was also strongly felt in Lebanon, including Beirut. A few hours later, a second tremor with a magnitude of 7.5 was recorded in central Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the quake was the "greatest disaster" the country had experienced since the 1939 earthquake that struck the eastern province of Erzincan.
In addition to the human drama, two terrible earthquakes severely damaged the richness of Turkey's heritage. The castle of Gaziantep, one of the best preserved in Turkey and dating back to the second century B.C., was badly damaged by its walls. The images that come from this historical monument are horrifying.
Originally built by the Hittite Empire as an observation tower on a hill, Gaziantep Castle was expanded and rebuilt by the Roman Empire in the second and third centuries. One of the features of the castle was its circular layout and twelve towers. It continued to expand during the Ottoman Empire and played its final important role in the country's history during the War of Independence in the early twentieth century. It was last year that part of the castle was opened to the public as the Gaziantep Museum of Defense and Heroism, with exhibits and artwork commemorating the episode.
Photographs taken from there show the eastern and southern bastions completely destroyed amid the snow of the Turkish winter. The iron bars were scattered, bent and warped with debris. Near the castle, the dome and east wall of the historic Shirvani Mosque, built in the seventeenth century, appear to have been hit by a major earthquake.
Underground tremors continue, and rescuers are searching for ruins in areas affected by the earthquake. Weather conditions are not helping, while Turkish hospitals in central and eastern parts of the country are failing because of the number of wounded who keep arriving. The atmosphere is perhaps not at all conducive to travel to Turkey right now.
Istanbul and Ankara airports are congested due to the large number of international aid flights and the influx of volunteers. Jens Laerke of the UN Office for Humanitarian Assistance commented in recent statements that there is only a seven-day period to rescue people who have been buried under the rubble after reported earthquakes.
So even though much of the country's tourist infrastructure has been left behind by the disaster, it may be better to let the specialists work in comfort. Perhaps the window to re-enter Turkey is just over seven days. In the ten most affected provinces of Turkey, a state of emergency has been declared for three months.