I am glad that you and your family are okay. It is such a horrible catastrophe for Turkey and Syria.aster wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 11:38 am Hi again, Henry.
Yes, as it happens, we are in Istanbul, which is pretty distant from the region. The fault line the earthquake happened on is a historically known one that is active to create a forceful quake almost every 100 years. It's in the books. The 'Anatolian plate' which is Turkey, was squeezed by the tectonic move of the 'Arabian Plate' from the East against the 'Eurasian Plate' in the North, hence the resulting quake on a very long line. (a magnitude 7.8 and later a mag. 7.5 followed along with many disturbing aftershocks).
Mostly the buildings that did not meet the constructional standards were devastated. Next time, builders/contractors should make better buildings/structures that meet the earthquake zone regulations and requirements. The truth of the zone demands that.
As you know, Japan encountered many 7-8 magnitude earthquakes over the years but since they build with conscious deliberation to meet the region's tectonic reality, the survival rate is high and there's hardly any devastation or damage in the buildings, just a few moments of shaking and settling. I hope the new constructions will be of Japan's quality...
I missed your Turkey photos! How candid they are and how the kids/students responded to you. I should check out your new galleries at Bakubo.com. You surely must have been travelling to many other locations by now.
My best regards and respect to all of you!
Yildiz
Here are a few more faces from my trip to Turkey in 2014. I hope to visit there again someday.