The Church of the Virgin Mary, a historical site located in the southernmost Hatay province of Türkiye, sustained significant additional damage as a result of the two earthquakes that occurred Monday.
The damage to the outer walls of the church from the twin quakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6 was exacerbated by Monday’s quakes, both of which were centered in Hatay, unlike the quakes two weeks ago.
The Orthodox Church, used by local Turkish citizens of Armenian origin, reportedly dates back some 700 years.
Local authorities closed the church for worship after the Feb. 6 earthquakes, Berç Kartun, head of Vakıflı town, told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"The church was almost completely destroyed in the latest earthquake. It is now unusable. Its outer walls have fallen. There’s a lot of damage inside. Worship isn’t allowed in the church at the moment. It is impossible to enter the building," said Kartun.
At least six people were killed and 294 others wounded when two smaller earthquakes, of magnitude 6.4 and 5.8, jolted Türkiye’s southernmost Hatay province Monday evening, the country’s disaster agency said.
The Hatay-centered quakes came just two weeks after the devastating magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes centered in Kahramanmaraş.
