See One Historic Turkish Street Before and After the Earthquakes

Officials said shortly after the earthquake that at least 80 percent of all buildings in Antakya had to be demolished. Across Turkey, more than 50,000 people were killed and more than 1.5 million displaced.

The destruction of Saray Street is part of everything that is lost in the Old City. It is the anchor of Antakya – bringing residents together to eat, shop, gather and pray.

Narrow streets like Saray have cul-de-sacs with some of the best restaurants in the area serving local cuisine and delicacies, such as knafeh, a sweet cheese cake. This is “the gastronomic market of Antakya,” said Ms. Yuksel, the owner of Cafe Barudi.

Not far from Saray, Kurtulus Street is another commercial center damaged by the earthquake. Stretching for miles, there are several shops, restaurants and hotels.

Beyond the shops and restaurants, the Old City has some of the most important and oldest religious and cultural institutions. Among the places that are now gone and may not be restored are: Antakya Protestant Church; Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch; Antakya Synagogue; and the Habibi Neccar Mosque, which was one of the first mosques in Anatolia, the most populous region of Turkey.

Many residents and business owners are proud of the multicultural alliance in the Old City and embrace different cultures.

“Here, there are churches, there are mosques, and there are synagogues,” said Ozgur Akseven, 34, who owns Cafe Lounge Eva, a restaurant with live music near Saray Street. “In the community, we are Armenians, we are Christians, we are Muslims, we are Jews. We are all human beings together.”

When the church bell rings, Mr. Akseven said, his lounge will stop the music, and everyone will stop drinking for about 45 minutes to pay respect.

Mr. Akseven, who had returned to retrieve the scooter from the ruins at the end of February, spoke about the family’s connection to the neighborhood. “Even my father’s father has memories here. This is real history,” he said, adding that “the identity of Antakya was erased” by the earthquake.

For Dr. Eraslan, the Old City is an important place that he often visits with his family. “It was good before,” he said, “but we didn’t know before we lost our city, how important it is for us.”

But Antakya, formerly known as Antioch, is no stranger to disaster. Since birth, he has been constantly rebuilding, emerging with resilience.

“Society always comes back stronger from every disaster,” said Andrea U. De Giorgi, author of “Antioch: A History,” and professor of classical studies at Florida State University.

Rebuilding and restoring everything that was lost in the Old City will take years.

“We have a long way to go,” said Deniz Ozturk, a restoration expert and volunteer working in the field in Antakya.

Today, what used to be part of the Old City remains deserted, and empty.