Description: It was 03:04 in the early hours of August 17, 1999, when the tremor hit his city. It was devastating! Erkan...
It was 03:04 in the early hours of August 17, 1999, when the tremor hit his city. It was devastating! Erkan, his wife Hanife, and their two young daughters, Bengisu ages five and Aybuke Beren two, survived. The people living in the affected cities of Istanbul, Izmit [Kocaeli], Sakarya [Adapazari], Duzce, and Istanbul, in the Marmara Region of western Turkey were in deep sleep when it happened. Under the extreme heat of this terrible August, most people were wearing only pants or were completely naked. In an instant, the daily life of peace and prosperity was changed into a time of despair. The apartment block of eight floors where the family lived was destroyed. As a result, they and others like them lived in the streets and in open areas for months. Then, they moved to a tent town, where they stayed for more months. They waited in a town of prefabricated houses on the nearby plains and hills while permanent mass housing was completed. The earthquake and its effects were very traumatizing on the Turkish people of the area…” This text is excerpted from the book “I Have A Story To Tell” by Duane Duff. Ever since the first moments of tremor I asked myself what left back us! Apart from twisted, ruined, demolished buildings! What left us under ground leveled homes out of our most loved ones, our sons, our daughters, our mothers, our fathers, our grandfathers and our grandmothers! What saved from ourselves being graspable concrete evidences such as surrounding documentary pictures, snapshots within, outside or around our sweet homes! Any pictures taken in our dwelling places, surrounding places, environs or cities! Did we write something how we were living at our vivid lives with our family members, relatives and close friends! The answer was just “Nothing”! Up that second I remembered that I had each time postponed my decision of writing something as Biography and taking documentary pictures, hit my brain some biting! It gave me much aching…. It gave me much pain. I had nothing graspable to show my children and grand children to come as evidences that these are “The Days Before Pictures” taken previous years this Quake did not hit us and these are our “Daily Life Stories” we ever had experienced. I said myself that this a promise I am going to give a start just now by taking pictures of this disaster and write something that will tell what we have experienced. Ever that second of that tremor I have been shooting documentary pictures and writing diaries every single God’s day! The Question is simple is this; “Did We Turks Take Acts of God Teachings From Greater Marmara Quake Allover?” The answer is ever biting that; “No”! If a nation and her rulers never took any lessons from God’s Acts Teachings, what history does? The answer is that, “History repeats itself!” Does It Seem We Turks Get Our Lessons From This Disaster! Greater Marmara Quake severely hit many cities and dwelling places within Marmara Region especially Yalova, Istanbul, Izmit [Kocaeli], Sakarya [Adapazari], Duzce & Bolu cities at around 03:04 on Aug 17, 1999. May Allah Bless All Souls We Gave Sacrifice To Marmara Quake In All Cities. Rest Them All In Peace. Amin-Amen-May Allah Accepts All Our Praying. Then what is my aim creating this group! It is so simple; Create a awareness towards Acts of God and adopt our daily lives according to the rules of earth and build living places in accordance with the disaster compatible codex. Please give a praying from your pure hearts whatever believes you are in and a praying of “Fatiha” if you feel you are only a Muslim. My deep belief is that all praying is even to God. God never need any languages, any religions, believes or nations for accepting our pure praying. Sincerely Yours, Erkan Kiraz,
[email protected] [email protected] City of Izmit-Kocaeli [Nicomedia], Turkey… In the name of all souls we lost at that disaster of Greater Marmara Quake hit our reg
