Antioch Destroyed

"the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch"

Antakya/Antioch after February 6, 2023, Earthquake

“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”¹

Earthquake of February 6, 2023

On 6 February 2023, a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. The 7.8 earthquake was the strongest to occur in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake.²

There was widespread damage in an area of about 140,000 sq mi. An estimated 14 million people, or 16 percent of Turkey's population, were affected. 1.5 million people were left homeless.

As of 5 March 2023, more than 52,700 deaths are confirmed: more than 45,900 in Turkey, and more than 6,700 in Syria. It is the deadliest natural disaster in Turkey's modern history.

Earthquake Destroys Antioch (current name Antakya)

Fourteen centuries of history were thrown to the ground by the earthquake. The ancient city of Antioch was originally founded as part of the Greek Empire. The city was built by Seleucus I, a general of Alexander the Great.

The spire of the dome of Habib-i Neccar, Turkey’s oldest mosque, lies horizontal atop the rubble that covers the prayer hall.³

In Antakya, the Antioch of Greek Antiquity, which has become a martyr city of Turkish heritage, fourteen centuries of history have been dispersed by the earthquake which killed more than 35,000 people in Turkey and Syria.⁴

Erected in AD 638, the Habib-i Neccar was "the first mosque built within modern-day Turkey's borders", according to the government's culture portal. Only its walls have survived, leaving delicate yellow, red and blue paintings and calligraphy exposed to the winter sky.⁵

1. Bible. Acts-11: 26. King James Version (KJV)

2. 1939 Erzincan earthquake

3. The Mosque of Habib-i Neccar (Habib al-Najjâr) | Antiochene .

4. Moore, Jason. The ancient city of Antioch, a martyr city in southern Turkey after the earthquake. UK Daily News (February 14, 2023).

5. Once home to civilisations, fabled Antioch left in ruins. France 24. (2/13/23).