Turkey quake: 2000-yr-old Gaziantep castle of Roman era destroyed

GAZIANTEP [TURKEY]: By Ashoke Raj The massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria not only left bustling neighbourhoods in ruins but also destroyed the 2,000-year-old Gaziantep Castle from the Roman Empire, a historic site and tourist attraction in Turkey.

The Gaziantep castle, located in the heart of the city fell, quite literally, during the earthquake that struck in the early hours of February 6. The death toll from the calamity has, so far, crossed 36,000.

The castle, which stood strong and remained intact even in the face of invasion and conquest, was destroyed after more than two millennia by the devastating earthquake.

Terming the incident 'unfortunate', Ahmad, a local of Gaziantep told ANI, "We are very sad because of the earthquake, this historical palace has been destroyed."

Locals in Gaziantep said the castle, more than 2000 years old, was built for surveillance in the city. The Roman king got it constructed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was further developed during the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian.

After this, its present form came into existence. Earlier it was used by the army of the Roman Empire. Later it was developed into a memorial for the brave. Another local Mohammad told ANI, "This palace is our pride but the earthquake destroyed it. i hope it will be restored to its original state again."

Due to the powerful earthquake in Turkey, the walls of this castle cracked and then fell. The castle broke into two parts. According to the Video, "the iron railing built around the castle also fell. Apart from this, big cracks were also seen in the floor of the castle." With Turkey still counting its dead and struggling to come to terms with the scale of the tragedy, India and many other countries came forward to help.

Under 'Operation Dost', India is helping Turkey in the earthquake-affected area and conducting search and rescue operations. To save trapped survivors trapped under of rubble of collapsed concrete, the Indian Army has also established 60 Para Field Hospitals in Turkey.

New Delhi had also dispatched the seventh flight to Turkey. The Indian Air Force C17 carrying relief material, medical aid, emergency and critical care medicines, medical equipment, and consumables took off from Hindon Airbase in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad.

EAM S Jaishankar also took to his Twitter handle to inform of the flight departing from Ghaziabad. He tweeted, "The 7th #OperationDost flight departs for Syria and Turkiye. Flight is carrying relief material, medical aid, emergency & critical care medicines, medical equipment & consumables."

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the flight is carrying more than 35 tons of relief material, of which over 23 tons is headed for relief efforts in Syria, and around 12 tons to Turkey.