TUESDAY November 21, 2023: 'FINDING HOME: Turkey 9 Months On' by award winning, ZUMA Press photo-journalist Tolga Ildun: Nine months after the twin devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and killed more than 50,000 people, the survivors, nearly 3 million people were displaced and still in need of shelter. Over 200,000 buildings either collapsed or were heavily damaged across the country during the two powerful tremors that occurred several hours apart. The government has promised to build 850,000 new units for both residences and businesses, but locals worry that construction works could take more time than expected. Welcome to 'FINDING HOME: Turkey 9 Months On'
© zReportage.com Story of the Week #915: TUESDAY November 21, 2023: 'FINDING HOME: Turkey 9 Months On' by award winning, ZUMA Press photo-journalist Tolga Ildun: Nine months after the twin devastating earthquakes struck southern Turkey and killed more than 50,000 people, the survivors, nearly 3 million people were displaced and still in need of shelter. Over 200,000 buildings either collapsed or were heavily damaged across the country during the two powerful tremors that occurred several hours apart. The government has promised to build 850,000 new units for both residences and businesses, but locals worry that construction works could take more time than expected. Welcome to 'FINDING HOME: Turkey 9 Months On'
YUNUS BURTACKIRAY stands with a chair beside a twisted electricity pole in Kuyumcular village, where the fault rupture stretches for many kilometers. Burtackiray, who lives in Kahramanmaras, came to the home of his grandfather Mustafa and his grandmother Zeliha to help them after the earthquake.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
The municipality offices of Arsuz, which will continue its activities in a new prefabricated structure, awaits the uncovering of the Ataturk statue at the entrance before the opening ceremony. The original Arsuz Municipality building was totally destroyed during the deadly earthquakes.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
French land artist Guillaume Legros, known as Saype, created an artwork depicting intertwined hands shaking hands to draw attention to the destruction in Hatay. The artwork is situated in Armutlu, a neighborhood of Antakya that was almost totally destroyed.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
Children playing ball outside their prefabricated school, as students continue their education in temporary container cities in Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquakes.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
Then abandoned Dogukent Site in the central Dulkadiroglu district of Kahramanmaras, where approximately 15 thousand people lived prior to the deadly earthquake, is undergoing evacuation and demolition as part of the on-site transformation project for damaged buildings.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
Buildings destroyed by dynamite explosions emit a significant amount of dust into the environment during the demolition process in Dogukent Site in the central Dulkadiroglu district of Kahramanmaras. Approximately 15 thousand people who called this home before the earthquake are now undergoing evacuation and the buildings demolished as part of the on-site transformation project for damaged buildings in Turkey.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
A barber shop is open under a heavily damaged building, waiting to be demolished in Pac Square, located in the center of Hatay's Iskenderun district in Hatay Provine. Daily life continues in and around the square, one of the places where the greatest destruction occurred during the earthquake.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
People waiting at the bus stop adjacent to where buildings once stood before the quake. In the city attempting to normalize after the earthquake people go about their daily lives as the the debris is still removed. Those who lost their homes, jobs, and relatives are trying to hold on to life in Kahramanmaras.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
People go about their daily lives among the debris at the bazaar as those who lost their homes, jobs, and relatives are trying to hold on to life. The historical grand bazaar in the center of Kahramanmaras, built in the late 16th century and damaged by earthquakes, is partially open to shopping as the city attempts to normalize after the earthquakes.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
9 month old YUSUF KOYUN, born right after the earthquake to the Koyun family now living in one of the few remaining houses, together with his mother and grandfather among the piles of rubble adjacent to their home. Only four houses survived in the Fevzi Cakmak neighborhood, which was almost completely destroyed in the earthquakes in Antakya, the center of Hatay.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
Shopkeepers who reopened their stalls amidst the ruins in the streets around the historical bazaar, which was heavily damaged in the earthquakes in Antakya, the center of Hatay.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
A makeshift barber shop has been set up in a container in Dulkadiroglu, the epicenter of the earthquake, where many houses and workplaces were destroyed after the earthquakes. Businesses here are striving to provide services in small container shops established to restore normalcy.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
An aerial view of Zubeyde Hanim Container City in the Samandag district, located on the Mediterranean coast of Hatay, reveals the extensive destruction caused by earthquakes in Turkey. Many people who lost their homes in earthquake zones continue their lives with limited opportunities in container cities, most of which were established by the state-affiliated AFAD, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
Children ride bicycles donated by international charity organizations near the container city in the Kuzeytepe neighborhood they currently call home. Approximately 150 thousand people who lost their homes now live in dozens of container cities established around the Antakya district which was devoted after the earthquakes. Established by AFAD, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency is one of the largest in Hatay, accommodating a population of more than 10 thousand.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
An aerial view of the dumping area where debris is brought from clearing collapsed buildings after the Great Turkey Earthquake in the Antakya district of Hatay, Rubble dump sites close to residential and agricultural areas are a concern in the region due to both the damage they cause to agricultural areas and the risks of potential development in the future.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
The spiritual leader of the Orthodox church, MUSA PAPAZ, leads the worship and memorial for deceased family members in the churches new location in Tokacli Village, temporarily serving as a replacement for the 700-year-old Virgin Mary Orthodox Church, which was completely destroyed.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
After the earthquakes that destroyed almost all the mosques in Antakya, the center of Hatay, the Muslim community now prays in the small masjids and streets that survived in the historically long bazaar, which was built when Antakya was captured by Muslim Arabs in 638.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
A TV, a pink teddy bear and a model ship among personal belongings found in the rubble of a building destroyed in the earthquake on Malatya street in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the earthquake.
© Tolga Ildun/ZUMA Press Wire
