In a derelict square in Avcilar, 35 kilometres south-west of Istanbul's city centre, some 40 families live in an improvised tent village. Structural damage to their apartment blocks caused by last week's earthquake prevents them from returning to their homes just across the road. With little or no assistance on offer from the government, these people had no alternative but to cobble together makeshift camps from whatever material they could muster.
Last week they considered themselves the lucky ones. More than 50 of their neighbours in three different apartment blocks lost their lives. The blocks they lived in were relatively new and all exceeded the height stipulated in government building regulations for the area.
The quality of such buildings was evident yesterday from the flimsy metal rods which protruded from the rubble the earthquake left behind. Most of the residents who lost their lives when these buildings collapsed were young parents and their children.
The survivors who huddle in tents behind the melon-seller's stand on the Feuzi Cakmak Cat desi at least had the consolation last week of having company in their misery. Local media estimate that eight million Istanbul residents slept under the stars in the latter part of the week rather than risk being in bed when a second quake struck. Now, after a weekend of wet weather, most of those who slept in the open air last week have conquered their fears and returned to their homes.
There are several thousand makeshift camps dotted along the coast of the Sea of Marmara between Avcilar and the centre of Istanbul. Some of the tents are little more than plastic sheeting stretched between tree trunks and held together by masking tape.
Last week their inhabitants were considered the lucky ones. This week, with hope all but gone of finding any further survivors, these victims of the catastrophe are becoming a major concern.
In other areas of north-western Turkey badly hit by the earthquake, tented villages have been set up to cater for the local homeless. Some 200 km north-west of Istanbul, at Kirklareli, close to the Greek and Bulgarian borders, a centre which was originally built to house refugees from Kosovo has been revamped to accommodate Turkey's earthquake victims.
There was little evidence of such organised state aid in the area around Avcilar yesterday.
Policemen stood in large groups joking outside banks and other commercial premises damaged in the earthquake. Young soldiers patrolled in front of other flattened buildings, the reason for their armed, but relaxed, presence unclear.
Istanbul Metropolitan Assembly is said to be preparing to build tent cities in Avcilar and other suburbs, but there is little sign of the kind of concerted effort that would be needed from state agencies if Istanbul's new homeless are to be properly catered for, even in the short term.
Mr Chris Paladino, a disaster relief worker with the American Red Cross, predicts major migration from the area of north-western Turkey worst affected by the earthquake, which was until a week ago the industrial heartland of the state. "At the moment it's extraordinary how these people are coping with the situation they find themselves in, but in six months time, given the choice of continuing to live in a tent or going to stay with relatives on the other side of the country, I think most will choose the latter."
Reuters adds:
A group of 300 people left homeless by last week's earthquake in Turkey filed a court appeal yesterday, asking prosecutors to establish whether poor construction played a role in damage levels to their houses. The appeal, reported by Anatolian news agency, was the first of its kind since the earthquake last week. Many of the buildings wrecked by the tremor were surrounded by others still intact, giving rise to widespread public anger that shoddy construction or poor materials were to blame.
The appeal was filed by a group of residents in Istanbul's worst-hit Avcilar and Bagcilar districts on the city fringes. The court was asked to put together expert damage assessment reports on the damaged buildings.
Anatolian News Agency reported that Bagcilar authorities had already begun collecting samples from the ruins. The group's lawyer, Remzi Kazmaz, said the court report would enable earthquake survivors to file negligence lawsuits against architects, builders or even municipal authorities.
An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale shook Ankara and the surrounding region yesterday evening, the Anatolia news agency said.
The epicentre of the new earthquake was at Haymana, about 50 km south-east of the capital, the agency reported. The tremor created panic in parts of Ankara, sending people into the streets in fear.