construction sites are multiplying in Antioch, a bruised and deserted city

The hubbub of the crowd has disappeared but there remains a deafening and permanent noise. In Antioch, in the south-east of Turkey, backhoe loaders reached every street corner to rebuild the city devastated by the violent earthquakes of February 6, which killed more than 50,000 people. There are now more than people.

At 24, Ramazan Amed volunteered to raze the thousand-year-old city. But each shovel is a test: “AT every time we dig, we are afraid of falling on a human body. It’s really hard for us to live”he testifies.

“It’s the whole city of Antioch that has disappeared”

The city of Antioch has mourned several thousand deaths and some residents may still be trapped under the rubble. “I’m too moved. I lost two houses and above all my life, memories, neighbors, friends, it’s this whole city of Antioch that disappeared. It was my paradise here”says a resident.

In the city, barely 10% of the 200,000 inhabitants have decided to stay. But, in the old town, once touristy, you still can’t walk the streets. In total, Turkey finds itself with more than 100 million tons of rubble on its hands.