Antakya has become a city of ghosts. A thriving modern metropolis of nearly 400,000 people — and a cradle of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history — belongs now to the birds and earth-moving machines after the two massive earthquakes on Feb.6.
in history to be illuminated at night. It remained alive at all hours in modern times, a shopping area dotted with antique stores, restaurants and homes.On one end of the street is Habib-i Neccar, one of Anatolia’s oldest mosques, now in ruins. On the other end is St. Pierre Church, already hundreds of years old when Christian crusaders oversaw an expansion in the early-12th century. A stairway was damaged in the quakes, but the stone face of the church was unharmed.
Ugur looked up at the roof where an old man, not really an uncle but a friend, stood looking down. The pigeon keeper fears his building may still fall, the young man explained.Even the buildings that remain upright in Antakya are crisscrossed with cracks that snake through bedrooms and kitchens. Curtains sway in the breeze through broken windows and holes in the wall. High-rises that appear unscathed stand feet away from others that have collapsed into hills of powder and twisted metal.
On some streets, soldiers stood watch to prevent looting. They huddled around makeshift fires, shivering in the cold. The empty apartments peered down at them.Colorful clothes were strewn on street corners across the city, covered in a film of dust. They had been donated to earthquake victims, but few residents were left to claim them. Most of the people still here were from search and rescue teams.Veli and Yesim Bagi were the exception.
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