ANKARA: While many invaluable artifacts, such as those in the prominent Zeugma Mosaic Museum, were left largely untouched in two recent earthquakes, Turkish authorities have declared that restoration and repair work would soon begin for those that took damage in the tremors.
Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy declared that the restoration of historical and cultural sites in nearby Hatay province that were damaged by the massive tremors would begin next month. He also noted that the ministry’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums has introduced an emergency disaster prevention plan.
Teams responded immediately to work on damaged parts of museums and ruins across 11 province hit hard by the two back-to-back quakes on Feb. 6, and conducted large-scale damage assessment work of the cultural treasures.
In Gaziantep, one of those 11 provinces, the historical Roman-era columns still stand in the ruins of the city of Zeugma. Its famed ancient mosaics have preserved their unique texture despite the earthquakes, while the museum’s favorite exhibits, the 1.6-meter-tall statue of the Roman god Mars and the Gypsy Girl mosaic, were unscathed.
Despite being damaged, the historical Governor’s Office building of Hatay province, which was built 95 years ago and served as a presidential mansion before the province joined Türkiye in 1939, did not collapse. It was evacuated after the earthquakes, which had destroyed its roof and clock.
The urban center of Kahramanmaras, where the both earthquakes were centered, suffered widespread destruction due to the strong tremors, with many buildings collapsing in the centuries-old city.
Some major arteries to the heart of the city, home to many historical sites, have been closed off by the rubble of buildings that collapsed in the quakes, which claimed thousands of lives across southern Türkiye.
As debris is removed, however, residents have regained road access to the Grand Bazaar, dating back half a millennium, which itself was nearly unscathed by the earthquakes. In fact, some businesses have started reopening their doors to help people feel like “life will return to normal.”
Not so fortunate, half of the minaret of the 15th-century Maras Grand Mosque, which marks the center of the city, was lost in the disaster, with the falling debris causing some damage near the entrance of the historical mosque.
– Int’l Red Cross head visits Türkiye’s quake zone –
Türkiye on Sunday hosted the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who was visiting earthquake-hit areas in the country to examine the humanitarian assistance activities carried out by the Turkish Red Crescent.
Visiting the southern provinces of Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras, Secretary-General Jagan Chapagain voiced his support and solidarity with Türkiye in a meeting with Kerem Kinik, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, or Kizilay, in Kahramanmaras province, the IFRC said in a statement.
“The scale of the damage and destruction is absolutely unimaginable,” Chapagain said, calling the level of destruction, and the damage “heartbreaking.”
On Kizilay’s efforts on the ground, he said the organization “swung into action immediately in the middle of this destruction.”
“Thousands of volunteers and staff were mobilized on day 1 all over the earthquake-affected areas to bring food. Because that was a really immediate need. And now they are expending their services of shelter, health, water, sanitation and protection.”
Thanking the volunteers and staff of Kizilay for their dedication and commitment, he said: “I also know that many of them have lost some of their family members. But their commitment is not shaking. They are still here.”
Chapagain also said that the IFRC was extending its support to Kizilay, which, he underlined was a “very strong National Society with a huge capacity.”
