CROSSROADS OF CIVILISATIONS
Türkiye, like Syria, is on one of the world’s most active fault lines.
But the region is also “at the centre of much of humanity’s shared ancient history”, said Aparna Tandon, senior programme leader at the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
The area impacted is home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Like Aleppo in Syria, Türkiye’s “crossroads of civilisations” was already “60 per cent destroyed in 1822 after an earthquake”, said Youmna Tabet, of the World Heritage Convention.
Fortunately, there does not seem to be as much damage at Türkiye’s other heritage sites, said Maria Liouliou, Tabet’s colleague.
The fortress in Diyarbakir seems to have suffered only moderate damage, she said.
But the dangers are far from over now that the worst aftershocks have faded, experts warn.
What look like “simple cracks” to the “layman’s eyes” can weaken a monument and cause it to collapse weeks later, said Samir Abdulac, who works at the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which seeks to protect historical places.
The experts AFP spoke to all insisted the “priority” was to save lives first. Safeguarding historical monuments must come later.
This was clear when AFP encountered a local official in Antakya, whose family was one of many devastated by the disaster.
“I just lost my two brothers and a nephew. I am evacuating my wife and daughter today,” said the official, who preferred to remain anonymous.
“I have no money, nothing. Frankly I have other priorities than cultural heritage.”
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