Second Century Roman Castle Destroyed in Deadly Earthquake

A second-century castle built by Romans and a 19th-century mosque are among the heavily damaged structures from Monday’s devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,300 people in Turkey and Syria.

The 7.8-magnitude quake was followed by a series of strong aftershocks, including one registering 7.5 magnitude, that knocked down buildings including much of the Gaziantep Castle, which was a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning it was given funds for renovation to bring it up to standards required by UNESCO. The castle had undergone extensive renovations in recent years and houses a heroism museum.

Also heavily damaged was the 19th century Yeni mosque in Malatya, Turkey, which was built in 1894 to replace a mosque destroyed by an earthquake that that year. It had also been badly destroyed in an earthquake in 1964, which left large fissures in its domes.

A citadel in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo was also badly damaged, including parts of an Ottoman-era mill and the a segment of the dome of the minaret of the Ayyubid mosque, which is part of the complex, according to Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.

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