7.9 Earthquake Devastates Gaziantep Castle and Historic Sites in Turkey and Syria

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey near the Syrian border on the night of February 5-6, 2023, causing widespread destruction to cultural heritage. The ancient Gaziantep Castle, a Roman-era structure built between the 2nd and 3rd centuries on Hittite foundations and last renovated under Emperor Justinian (527-565 AD), has been reduced to rubble. It housed the Museum of Defense and Heroism since 1940 and was on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list. Artifacts inside, including Hittite, Roman, and Hellenistic glass objects and pagan tombstones from Zeugma, are likely destroyed. The adjacent 17th-century Sirvani Mosque also suffered severe dome damage. In Malatya, the Yeni Mosque, rebuilt after an earthquake in the late 19th century and restored in the 1960s, collapsed. In Diyarbakır, the fortified citadel and Hevsel Gardens, a UNESCO site, were damaged. In Syria, Aleppo's old city saw multiple collapses including the western tower of the city walls and souk buildings, with the Ayubi Mosque also damaged. The death toll was provisionally 1,300, with thousands injured or missing. The US Geological Survey estimated up to 10,000 fatalities and economic damages between $1 billion and $10 billion. UNESCO and ICOMOS began assessing damage to other nearby sites including Göbekli Tepe, Nemrut Dağ, and Arslantepe.