Historic buildings destroyed after the earthquake

Two major earthquakes in Kahramanmaras resulted in the death of many of our people. The earthquake caused great tragedy and indescribable pain not only in the cities affected by it, but throughout Turkey. Of course, thousands of buildings in 10 provinces were destroyed by the earthquake. In some micro-districts and districts in the earthquake zone, not a single building could survive. Some settlements have turned into huge piles of garbage. Unfortunately, thousands of years of history have disappeared along with our cities, which have turned into ruins. The earthquake also damaged historical buildings and cultural property in many provinces, especially in Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmarash and Adiyaman. Here are some historical buildings that were destroyed after the strong earthquakes in Kahramanmaras.

1. Gaziantep Castle

Although it is not known exactly when and by whom it was built, it has been estimated that Gaziantep Castle was built around 6,000 years ago. Situated on a 25-30 meters high hill in the center of Gaziantep, the castle was last restored in the early 2000s. Gaziantep Castle, one of the most important symbols of the city, was unfortunately largely destroyed after the Kahramanmaras earthquake.

2. Shirvani Mosque

The Shirvani Mosque, located near the historic Gaziantep Castle, is one of the buildings that was damaged by the earthquake. The mosque, built in 677, was one of the most important historical buildings in the city. After the earthquake in Kahramanmarash, the dome of the mosque and the wall on the eastern facade were destroyed.

3. Adiyaman Grand Mosque

One of the cities most affected by the earthquake was Adiyaman. For this reason, many historical buildings in Adiyaman were destroyed or destroyed to a large extent. The Great Mosque, one of the most important historical monuments of the city, was unfortunately largely destroyed. The Adiyaman Ulu Mosque was built in the 1300s, during the Dulkadirogullara period.

Unfortunately, the Ulu Mosque is not the only historical building damaged by the earthquake in Adiyaman. Many historical mosques such as Kab, Siratut and Eskisaray, which occupy an important place in the historical structure of the city, were also destroyed or significantly damaged.

4. Walls of Diyarbakir

The city walls, which were registered by UNESCO as a “World Heritage Site” in 2015, have a thousand-year history. The current appearance of the walls dates back to 349, when the Roman emperor II. It arose during the reign of Constantine. Fortunately, the structure, which is shown as one of the oldest walls in the world, managed to survive the earthquake. However, some parts of the building were damaged.

5. New Malatya Mosque

More than 300 buildings were destroyed in Malatya due to earthquakes in Kahramanmaras. Among the destroyed buildings is Yeni Mosque, one of the symbols of the city. The mosque, built 123 years ago, was damaged during the first earthquake in Pazardzhik. Unfortunately, the historical mosque was largely destroyed after the second earthquake in Elbistan.

6. Hatay Parliament Building

As you know, Hatay was one of our cities where the destruction caused by the earthquake was felt the most. In the ancient city with a thousand-year history, there were many historical buildings belonging to various civilizations. Unfortunately, the great catastrophe also destroyed the ancient buildings of the ancient city…

The Hatay Parliament building was built in 1927 as a cinema. In 1938, with the creation of the state of Hatay, it was used as a parliament building. The historic building, which is one of the most emblematic buildings of the city, did not survive the terrible earthquakes, and the cultural heritage, which occupies an extremely important place in our recent past, has disappeared.

7. Ata College

Ata College is one of the historical buildings in Khatai that was destroyed by the earthquake. The building, whose construction was started in 1900 and completed in 1908, became unrecognizable after the Kahramanmaras earthquake.

8. Habib-i Neckar Mosque

The mosque, built in 638, when Antakya was under the rule of Muslim Arabs, was one of the most important historical buildings of the city with its thousand-year history.

9. Antioch Protestant Church

The church, built during the years when Antakya was under French rule, was one of the many churches in the city of historical significance. The historic church was destroyed after the earthquake.

10. Iskenderun Latin Catholic Church

The church, built in 1858, was restored and put into operation in 1888-1901 after a fire. Unfortunately, after two strong earthquakes, a pile of rubble remained from the historic church.

11. Church of the Virgin Mary

It is believed that the church, located in the Armenian village of Vakifly in the Samandag region of Hatay, was last restored in the 1870s. The church, which was badly damaged during an earthquake many centuries ago and was rebuilt for this reason, has suffered greatly due to the earthquakes that we have experienced in the past days.

12. Greek Orthodox Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

The historic church, originally built of wood, was completely destroyed by the 1872 earthquake and a stone church was built in its place. However, the church, which is one of the important historical buildings in Khatai, was again destroyed due to the earthquake we experienced.

Because of the earthquake, too many historic buildings that should be included in our list were destroyed or badly damaged. Unfortunately, along with the ancient cities of Anatolia, historical buildings of a thousand years ago remained under the ruins …