UNESCO sounds alarm over earthquake damage to Türkiye and Syria heritage sites

This article was first published by The Times of Israel

The UN’s cultural agency UNESCO said on Tuesday it was ready to provide assistance after two sites listed on its World Heritage list in Syria and Turkey sustained damage in the devastating earthquake.

As well as the damage to the old city of Syria’s Aleppo and the fortress in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, UNESCO said at least three other World Heritage sites could be affected.

“Our organization will provide assistance within its mandate,” said UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay.

A statement from UNESCO said it and partners had already carried out an initial survey of the damage of the quake which struck before dawn on Monday.

It said it was “particularly concerned” about the old city of Aleppo, which has been on its list of World Heritage in Danger since 2013 due to the Syrian civil war.

In Turkey, UNESCO said it was saddened by the “collapse of several buildings” at the World Heritage site of the Diyarbakir Fortress and the adjacent Hevsel Gardens.

It emphasized that the entire area was an important center of the Roman, Sassanid, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods.

The predawn quake hit near Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey at a depth of about 18 kilometers (11 miles), the US Geological Survey said.