Türkiye earthquakes damage historical Grand Bazaar in Kahramanmaras

By Omer Urer

KAHRAMANMARAS, Türkiye (AA) – A 14th-century bazaar in Türkiye’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province, the epicenter of Feb. 6 earthquakes, is one of the several historical structures damaged due to strong tremors in the city.

The historical Maras Grand Bazaar, consisting of nine entrances and 495 shops, was built in the 1500s by the Bozkurt of Dulkadir, or Alauddevle, -- the chief of Turkish principality in Anatolia.

While some of the wood-and-stone-made shops around the market were destroyed, cracks appeared in others.

Besides shops, museums and mansions in the narrow streets around the marketplace, and buildings that were restored and converted into hostels and cafes in the past years, were also damaged in the quakes.

At least 42,300 people have died in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Adiyaman, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig.