Deadly 7.7 quake destroys historical Gaziantep Castle

GAZİANTEP

A deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, with tremors felt in the neighboring provinces, has partly damaged the historical Gaziantep Castle.

Some bastions of the castle in the Şahinbey district were severely damaged, while the wreckage of the castle toppled down onto the road, along with iron railings around the region.

Some of the walls made of stone blacks and the retaining wall around the castle, which was used as a panorama museum, were also damaged.

The castle was used for observation purposes during the Roman period. The historical castle has been restored many times and took its final form following a restoration in the early 2000s.

At least 1,014 people lost their lives in the deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake, and more than 5,000 others were injured, while tremors were also felt in nine other provinces in the country.

After multiple large and small tremors, another 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in Kahramanmaraş at 1:26 p.m.