Daily Times

Ridwan Gurre had the instincts to hide from roaring warplanes when he lived in Syria during its civil war. But little prepared him for the rumble of the 7.8-magnitude quake that devastated his adopted home in Turkey on Monday. The 42-year old joined nearly four million Syrians when he moved his family for the relative safety of southeastern Turkey — a region that has suffered its own share of violence between militants and government forces. He spent seven years building a new home in the multi-ethnic city of Diyarbakir. His life was getting back on track. Now it is gone. Gurre was forced to spend the past two nights with his wife and two sons on the turquoise carpet of the city’s ancient Grand Mosque. The massive worship house was rebuilt from another huge quake nearly a millennium ago but survived this one unscathed. Gurre felt safe for the moment but uncertain about what happens next. “When we were in a war, we knew that when the planes flew overhead, it was time to take shelter,” Gurre remarked. Hundreds of others slept with their heads perched on their belongings or walked around covered in blankets as Gurre contemplated his fate. Women breastfed their newborns while cheerful children — blissfully unaware of the tragedy unfolding around them — played in busy corners. “