Powerful Earthquake Destroys Turkey’s Historic Gaziantep Castle

VIVA – A 2,000-year-old castle built during the Roman Empire has been destroyed by a powerful earthquake that hit Turkey on Monday. The beautiful Gaziantep castle in southeastern Turkey, was built centuries ago before becoming a popular museum in Turkey.

Horrifying photos show the aftermath of the earthquake, which left the castle in ruins, with many of its walls crumbling and shattered, and debris was also strewn across the street.

Until the earthquake, the castle served as the Gaziantep Panorama Museum of Defense and Heroism. The museum, which is tucked into the castle wall, commemorates the 1920 defense of the city against the French.

The castle played an important role during Turkey's wars of independence in the early 20^th century. The castle has an irregular shape and has 12 towers (surrounded by a moat at one point), the castle survived numerous invasions, renovations, and regime changes over thousands of years, bearing witness to Turkish history.

After the Ottoman Empire captured the castle in 1516, it lost its military significance but has maintained its status as an important historical site and tourist attraction for centuries since.

Geological seismologists said the magnitude 7.8 quake occurred at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9 km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep. The first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey.

The second quake, triggered by the first, had a magnitude of 7.5, and the epicenter was in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province.

In addition to Kasil Gaziantep, thousands of buildings in both countries have collapsed, and several videos show the moment buildings collapsed, as citizens ran for cover. Many buildings that were once 12 stories high are now razed to the ground, roads are destroyed, and there are huge mountains of debris.