Nation mourns victims of twin quakes on 1st anniversary

HATAY

Millions of people early Feb. 6 partook in "silent marches," traversing through desolate streets across 11 southern provinces to commemorate the 53,537 lives on the first anniversary of the twin earthquakes.

Participants observed a moment of silence at 4:17 a.m., the haunting moment when the first tremor of 7.7 magnitude struck the cities while millions were asleep.

Piercing the silence, some shouted, "Can anyone hear me?" – a tribute to the echoes amidst the debris one year prior.

In Adıyaman, the crowd gathered in the city square, holding a ceremony in front of the halted clock tower frozen at 4:17 a.m. Kahramanmaraş, the earthquake's epicenter, and Hatay, the focal point of destruction, witnessed commemoration events in which thousands spent the night on the streets. In Hatay’s Antakya, enshrouded in dense fog, some walked with torches and lanterns, while others carried flowers.

In the Iskenderun district, citizens ignited fires in the thoroughfares, participating in a ritualistic "quake vigil," as volunteers extended tea and soup to them.

Carrying a banner reading “We will not forget,” a crowd bestowed red carnations upon the Asi River, a symbol of the city profoundly impacted by the quake.

In Hatay, often hailed as a mosaic of faiths and sacred edifices, clergymen joined nocturnal processions, offering prayers encompassing three faiths. Mayor Lütfü Savaş, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu were also present at the events.

At poignant points such as the Ebrar Site, Isias Hotel and Rönesans Residence, where the most casualties occurred and legal sagas of the bereaved unfolded in the media during the year, some families held commemorative ceremonies. Police ensured security around crowded areas, while NGOs provided tea and soup to the families.

While the processions and commemorative events transcended the confines of the 11 provinces, nearly every city remembered the deadliest disaster in the nation’s modern history, directly impacting 14 million people and colloquially deemed the “disaster of the century.”

Education halted for a day in the five earthquake-hit cities, with millions of students across all provinces beginning their day with a minute of silence and the recitation of the national anthem in memory of quake victims.

As the night waned into dawn on Feb. 6, mourners grappling with the profound loss of kin, flocked to cemeteries. Local media images depicted a Turkish flag hanging at the head of each grave, and some families placed toys and clothing at their children's graves.