How Türkiye is taking care of its cultural heritage in quake-hit regions

With eyes extensive open, the bust of Hittite King Suppiluliuma watched on as a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Türkiye.

And because the earth trembled beneath, the three,000-year-old sculpture stood nonetheless on its pedestal on the Hatay Archaeology Museum.

Outside, throughout 11 provinces and in neighbouring Syria, the world crumbled – cities and cities have been decreased to rubble within the twin earthquakes on February 6. At the final depend, the variety of deaths stood over 52,000 throughout the 2 nations.

The statue survived the dual temblors. But many different artefacts and monuments of historic and archaeological significance didn’t.

As the mud settles over the devastated area, consultants are cataloguing the loss and getting down to restore broken artefacts and monuments.

“The region affected by the earthquakes is home to exceptionally important areas that have been inhabited…since the Palaeolithic Age,” Yahya Coskun of Türkiye’s General Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Museums tells TRT World.

This implies that human historical past within the area dates again to 10,000 BCE, making it house to various civilisations, historic websites and an immense cultural accumulation.

The first identified mosque in Anatolia, the 14-century-old Habib-i Neccar Mosque, was amongst some irreplaceable landmarks that suffered heavy injury. Located within the hard-hit Hatay province’s Antakya – a historic melting of various cultures and religions – the dome, minaret, and a few partitions of the mosque collapsed.

But Coskun believes that “losses are not beyond repair” and provides that almost all artefacts in museums and archaeological websites have been unscathed after the earthquakes, together with UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Famed for its colossal megaliths which might be the oldest of their type, the pre-pottery neolithic web site at Gobekli Tepe in quake-hit Sanliurfa suffered no injury. As did Mount Nemrut in Adıyaman, which options large Hellenistic statues of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and historical gods alongside a pair of lions and eagles.

The Diyarbakır Fortress, identified for having the world’s second longest and widest defensive partitions overshadowed solely by the Great Wall of China, and the Arslantepe Mound in Malatya – the place the world’s first identified swords have been excavated – suffered minor injury.

READ MORE: Church of Virgin Mary in Hatay suffers additional injury in contemporary quakes

Some of the 29 museums within the quake-affected space sustained bodily injury, however none collapsed, and the artefacts have been in good situation, in response to Coskun. The Hatay Archaeology Museum, which hosts the world’s largest mosaic exhibition, sustained partial injury. Since then, solar-powered cameras have been put in and safety personnel deployed to stop potential theft.

Aftershocks, that are persevering with within the devastated area, didn’t trigger further injury to museum artefacts since authorities had “taken the necessary measures in the initial days,” Coskun says.

“In most museums, artefacts were immediately taken out of display to be boxed and stored or were transferred to other museums.”

Swift response

Teams from Türkiye’s tradition ministry have been deployed within the area instantly after the earthquake to provoke complete injury assessments and safe the artefacts amid persevering with aftershocks.

“Our friends working in the region were on duty from the first moment. Many rushed to their museums without checking on their homes first,” Coskun mentioned.

From the minister of tradition to departments and safety workers, personnel from round Türkiye have been engaged on the bottom on a rotating foundation.

More than 500 consultants from completely different fields are presently on the bottom, and injury evaluation efforts are ongoing, though preliminary operations have been accomplished across the finish of the primary week following the quakes, in response to Coskun.

A scientific board and advisory committee are additionally being established to revive registered cultural heritage, notably in Antakya, certainly one of Türkiye’s most culturally wealthy areas, the place the traditional Hellenistic metropolis of Antioch was situated.

“Our aim is to rebuild every demolished monument and repair the damaged ones with the guidance of the scientific committee,” Coskun provides. 

The committee is anticipated to encompass academicians and scientists from completely different universities and disciplines and representatives of nationwide and worldwide organisations.

Extensive expertise

The earthquakes affected greater than 13.5 million folks in Türkiye, jolting an space that spans 99,362 sq. kilometres – bigger than many international locations like Hungary, Portugal or Austria.

“Since the first day of the earthquakes, the calamity has been dubbed the disaster of the century. But when we look at it, what we are going through is one of the biggest disasters experienced in nearly two thousand years,” Coskun says.

Türkiye, situated on the intersection of the Eurasian, African and Arabian tectonic plates, is among the many world’s most seismically energetic areas.

“As Turkish museology has been up against natural disasters for many years, its experience is quite extensive,” Coskun says, including that the nation’s cultural heritage didn’t endure main losses in previous disasters both.

Most of the required catastrophe precautions have been already in apply years earlier than the February 6 earthquakes, and solely a pair extra have been included into operations afterwards.

“Besides, we have very experienced and skilled restorators. Our damaged artefacts are processed in the best way possible,” he emphasises.

READ MORE: World’s first cathedral in Hatay, Türkiye nonetheless intact after main quakes

Ready for guests 

Recent earthquake precautions in Turkish museums have been targeted on museum renovations. In the previous 20 years, 163 museums below the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have been renovated, that includes warehouses geared up with disaster-resistant good programs.

Stabilisers have been additionally used for artefact pedestals to stop them from shifting and inflicting the artefacts to fall in case of an earthquake. Artefacts displayed with out pedestals have been secured with stabilisers, equivalent to within the museum wax.

These measures “have been in practice for many years, and any deficiencies will be made up for swiftly. Old buildings are also being renovated and strengthened,” Coskun says.

In addition to precautions, the ministry of tradition up to date its emergency catastrophe motion plan in 2021, laying out steps equivalent to reaching the museums rapidly, establishing safety and conducting injury assessments.

The motion plan continues with injury assessments in world heritage websites, archaeological websites, excavations, and registered cultural property.

In the February 6 earthquakes, the final directorate carried out operations “according to the emergency action plan from the first moment, and the plan was successfully implemented,” Coskun says.

Two weeks after the earthquakes, cleanup and restoration efforts had been accomplished within the Diyarbakır Museum and Sanliurfa Archaeology Museum. Many different museums are presently able to be opened to guests once more.

“However, given the heavy atmosphere in the region, as well as the continuing aftershocks, we have assessed that time is needed to reopen these museums.”

Source: TRT World