See One Historic Turkish Street Before and After the Earthquakes

Officials said shortly after the earthquake that at least 80 percent of all buildings in Antakya would need to be demolished. Across Turkey, more than 50,000 people have been killed and more than 1.5 million displaced.

The destruction on Saray Street is a small part of all that has been lost in the Old City. It is Antakya’s anchor – bringing residents together to eat, shop, gather and pray.

Narrow streets like Saray are chock-full of dead ends with some of the area’s best restaurants serving local food and desserts, like knafeh, a cheesecake. Yuksel, who co-owns Barudi Cafe, says it’s “Antakya’s food market.

Not far from Saray, Kurtulus Street is another commercial center that was destroyed by the earthquake. Spanning a mile, it has a number of shops, restaurants, and hotels.

In addition to shops and restaurants, the Old City is home to some of the oldest and most important cultural and religious institutions. Among the places that have now disappeared and may never be recovered are: Antakya Protestant Church; Antioch Greek Orthodox Church; Antakya Synagogue; and Habibi Neccar Mosque, one of the first mosques in Anatolia, an area that spans most of Turkey.

Many residents and business owners took great pride in the Old City’s multicultural alliances and embrace of different cultures.

“Here, there is a church, a mosque and a synagogue,” said Ozgur Akseven, 34, who owns Eva Lounge Cafe, a restaurant with live music near Saray Street. “In the community, we are Armenians, we are Christians, we are Muslims, we are Jews. We are all human.”

Mr Akseven said when the church bells rang, his lounge would stop the music and people would stop drinking for about 45 minutes to show respect.

Mr Akseven, who returned to retrieve his scooter from the wreckage at the end of February, talks about his family’s connection to the neighbourhood. “Even my father has some memories here. This is true history,” he said, adding that “Antakya’s identity was erased” after the quake.

For Dr. Eraslan, the Old City is an important place that she often visits with her family. “It was good in the past,” she said, “but we didn’t understand before we lost the city how important it was to us.”

But Antakya, formerly known as Antioch, is no stranger to disaster. Since its birth, it has rebuilt itself many times and has always emerged resilient.

“Communities always come back stronger after each disaster,” says Andrea U. De Giorgi, author of “Antioch: A History,” and professor of classical studies at Florida State University.

Rebuilding and restoring all that was lost in the Old City could take years.

“We have a long way to go,” said Deniz Ozturk, a rehabilitation specialist and ground volunteer in Antakya.

For now, what was once a vibrant part of the Old City remains eerily deserted and empty.