BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 6. A historic Gaziantep Castle included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in the Turkish province of Gaziantep has suffered heavy damage as a result of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake, Trend reports via TASS.
According to the source, the damage caused has yet to be determined. It is now known that the walls in some places collapsed after aftershocks. While some bastions in the east, south and southeast parts of the historical Gaziantep Castle in the central Şahinbey district were destroyed by the earthquake, the debris was scattered on the road.
The iron railings around the court were scattered on the surrounding sidewalks. The retaining wall next to the castle also collapsed. In some bastions, large cracks were observed after the earthquake.
There is a museum complex on the territory of the castle, dedicated to the defense of Gaziantep from the French during World War I.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake was recorded in central Türkiye on Monday, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center. The quake’s epicenter was located 26 km away from the city of Gaziantep with a population of about 1.06 million. The source of the earthquake was 7 km below the surface.
Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said that three more earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4-6.6 rocked Gaziantep province in south-eastern Türkiye.
As a result of the earthquake that hit Türkiye, strong tremors were also felt in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus.