ANCIENT TURKISH CITY WAITS TO RISE FROM RUINS OF EARTHQUAKE
▶ Minority communities fear for future one year on from disaster, writes Nada Maucourant Atallah in Antakya
Misel Orduluoglu has fond memories of Saray Street, in the old quarter of the southern Turkish city of Antakya. He gestures towards a pile of rubble where a restaurant once stood, a favourite venue where he used to eat falafel with his cousins.
Such warm memories soon give way to the grim reality in the city, capital of Hatay province. Antakya was among the cities devastated by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria last year.
The quake killed at least 50,000 people and destroyed or damaged at least four million buildings in Turkey. Hatay was hit hard, with authorities reporting a death toll of 24,000.
A year on, the ancient city is now a barren wasteland covered in dust from demolition work and echoing with the sound of heavy machinery.
Mr Orduluoglu, a dentistry student, recalls how Saray Street was once a bustling part of the city.
“The street shone most colourfully during holidays. All communities celebrated together,” he says.
The predominantly Sunni city of Antakya was known for its cultural mix.
Several minority communities, including Alawites, Christians and Jews, all lived together in peace.
Mr Orduluoglu, a Christian, says his favourite place was the Greek Orthodox Church, now a ruin, where worshippers had gathered for centuries.
“Important structures across various religious groups in Antakya were damaged or destroyed,” says Katherine Pangonis, a historian who wrote about the effects of the earthquake on the city’s identity and cultural heritage in her book Twilight Cities, published last year.
The seventh century Habib-i Neccar Mosque and Antakya’s synagogue suffered significant structural damage during the quake and its aftershocks.
“Antakya was always a very important city due to its strategic location – it’s sort of the gateway to the Levant,” Ms Pangonis says.
“It became one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire, the cradle of Christianity, an Islamic stronghold, and it played a crucial role in the Crusader period.
“As a result of this history, Antakya had a unique cultural and political identity.
“Its uniqueness lies in its mosaic-like composition, made up of all these different communities and faiths.”
Thirteen international architecture companies are working together to aid rebuilding work in the ancient city, with the Turkey Design Council also involved in the initiative.
A master plan is expected to be announced this year.
But people in Antakya have criticised how slow reconstruction work has been.
Some communities in the city say they have not been included in plans to rebuild neighbourhoods and are concerned about whether the city’s cultural diversity will be preserved.
They are eager to learn details about the master plan and a timetable for reconstruction work.
“There’s no official information, so I keep an eye on the news every day,” Malik Turunc, who owns a hotel in the old quarter, tells The National.
He has put any restoration work on hold for now, much like other property owners in the area.
Mr Turunc could reopen his hotel at short notice because he had already ensured the building was upgraded to withstand a quake. The damage was minimal when the city was shaken last year.
But it is in a part of central Antakya the government has declared “a reserve area”, leaving many uncertain about who is responsible for reconstruction and whether residents and business owners will be allowed to remain there.
“Why pay for the renovation myself if I have to leave?” Mr Turunc asks.
For now, he will continue to live off his savings because he has not yet received help from the government. “There is nothing else to do but wait for the master plan,” he says.
In the meantime, many of Antakya’s displaced residents live in container cities – temporary accommodation made using shipping containers – set up by the government.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised after the quake struck that the government would build 319,000 homes within a year.
But the first 7,000 properties were only handed over to families in Hatay last Saturday, with new residents selected by lottery.
“People are losing hope. It’s been a year, and there has been no decision regarding the implementation of the urban plans,” says Tugce Tezer, an independent adviser to the rebuilding effort in Hatay.
“The situation is not sustainable for residents.”
Different institutions and government ministries are overseeing reconstruction plans across the city, including the old town, but she says the projects lack co-ordination and consistency.
“For the locals, this results in a lot of confusion around the process,” she says.
Anna Beylunioglu, an editor of Nehna, an online platform for Arabic-speaking Orthodox Christians in Antakya, is also upset over the “lack of transparency and inclusion in the rebuilding process”.
“Some locals don’t know about the future of their houses,” she says.
“Protecting cultural heritage involves not only buildings but also the people, their culture and their language.”
There are fears some minority groups are at risk of disappearing completely, including Antakya’s Jewish community, which was made up of fewer than 20 people before the earthquake. Its leader and his wife were killed in the disaster.
Some members of the Christian community, which was already dwindling, also fear for their future after its members were scattered after the quake.
Part of the challenge of rebuilding the city is the financial strain it places on a country already tackling an economic crisis.
The quake is estimated to have cost Turkey $103.6 billion, which is equal to about 10 per cent of the national gross domestic product.
Rebuilding Antakya’s Greek Orthodox church could cost between $8 million and $10 million, says Buse Ceren Gul, the Turkish architect leading the project supported by the World Monuments Fund.
Ms Pangonis warns that rebuilding the city will be “a very slow process”.
“There’s the double challenge of preserving the soul and heritage of the city while keeping the focus on building urgently needed housing for displaced residents,” she says.
But Antakya has been rebuilt before – the city has recovered from at least three major earthquakes in its history.
Some aspects of everyday life are beginning to bloom again – the Grand Bazaar, which reopened a few months after the quake, is busy with shoppers queuing to buy sweet treats including kunafa and kombe.
Mr Turunc remains hopeful of a wider revival throughout the city.
When asked if he plans to move, he says: “No. It’s my land. I’m confident about the project. I’m sure something will come up.”
There has been no decision regarding the implementation of the urban plans. The situation is not sustainable
TUGCE TEZER
Adviser to Hatay rebuilding initiative