A part of the Greek-built Byzantine wall on Sulukule Street in the Topkapı neighbourhood of Constantinople, has fallen.
Reports state that police and firefighters attended the scene. While there were no dead or injured in the incident, police inspected around the area where the crash occurred.
Turkey’s Ihlas News Agency has taken drone footage of the destroyed wall.
The Theodosian Walls (Tεῖχος Θεοδοσιακόν), were built in the 5th century, meaning they are over 1,500 years old.
Despite the historic value, Turkey has made little efforts to restore and preserve them.
Turkey has a long history of letting the rich history it inherited when it invaded the Byzantine Empire ruin, in the hope of removing most traces of Greek civilisation that is not of financial value, like the Hagia Sophia Cathedral that is the second most visited site in Turkey.
One Twitter user has compiled some of the many Greek sites in Turkey that have been left in despair and ruins.
The current state of greco-roman-byzantine vestiges in inland Anatolia.
— Pierre A. Colombier (@PAColombier) April 26, 2020
Everything is abandonned by Turkey (to be fair, even the cities are).@byzantinepower
1. Theatre of Nicaea/Nikaia (modern Iznik). pic.twitter.com/m0F8C1cKH2
3. The vestiges in Philadeplhia (modern Alasehir)
— Pierre A. Colombier (@PAColombier) April 26, 2020
In picture one : the roman theatre (yes you cannot even see it). Picture 2 shows that the theatre is here, somewhere.
Then the state of its walls. pic.twitter.com/vOzw6UIfmo
4. The great Theodosian walls are largely abandonned as well. Even in Constantinople/Istanbul, the vestiges aren't a subject of interest for Turkey. pic.twitter.com/T1AK8izJQT
— Pierre A. Colombier (@PAColombier) April 26, 2020
The collapse of the wall comes as the Hagia Sophia Church in Pontus on Turkey’s eastern Black Sea coast, which first turned into a museum and then later a mosque, is now being buried in concrete and ancient hagiographies covered, as reported by Greek City Times yesterday.
The Hagia Sophia Church was built in 1250. After its conversion into a mosque in 2013, 800-year-old hagiographies were covered and some of them even destroyed.
Meanwhile, the famous Hagia Sophia Church in Constantinople is also falling into disrepair as Turkish authorities even refuse to give the ancient cathedral a new coat of paint. So long as it remains of touristic value, a minimum of restoration will be made to the cathedral to appease international visitors.
Source: greekcitytimes
