Aleppo’s citadel and several other archaeological sites were damaged in the earthquakes that killed several hundred people in Syria on Monday, the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums said.
“Parts of the Ottoman mill inside the Aleppo citadel fell, and parts of the defensive walls in the northeast cracked and split,” the same source said in a statement.
“Large parts of the lighthouse dome of the Ayyubid mosque,” located inside the citadel, also collapsed, “including the entrance to the Mamluk defensive tower,” the statement added.
A classified jewel in the middle of the civil war
The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums posted photos on Facebook showing the minaret of the Ayyubid mosque, the facade of the Ottoman hospice and parts of the Aleppo citadel damaged.
Aleppo is famous in particular for its citadel, an architectural jewel from medieval times, as well as its old town, listed in 2018 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger, after years of civil war.
In the old city of Aleppo, located in northwestern Syria, several residential buildings adjacent to historic walls have collapsed and cracked.
Other Syrian Archaeological Sites Damaged
In Syria’s west-central province of Hama, archaeological teams reported “some damaged buildings inside the old Al-Marqab castle” in the town of Banyas, as well as partially collapsed walls and a tower. Historic facades have also collapsed in the city of Hama.
In Qadmus, a rocky cliff fell near the town’s castle in the province of Tartous and residential buildings collapsed within the castle grounds. The teams from the General Directorate of Antiquities continue to assess the damage, and still do not have precise information about the ancient city of Palmyra.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey early Monday morning, where the death toll stands at 3,419, and neighboring Syria, which has 1,602 deaths, according to still provisional reports.
Source: BFM TV
