A 2,000-year-old palace built during the Roman Empire and which stood the test of time until Monday has been destroyed.
Perched on a hilltop in southeastern Turkey, Gaziantep Castle was built in the 2nd and 3rd centuries before it became a museum.
But on 6 February, two earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7 struck the region, killing more than 7,000 people in Turkey and Syria, with the death toll expected to rise.
Harrowing photographs show the aftermath of the earthquake, showing the palace in ruins, with many of its walls collapsed and shattered.
Debris was also scattered on the road.
Until the earthquake, the palace served as the Gaziantep Defense and Heroism Panoramic Museum.
The museum, housed in the castle walls, commemorates the city’s 1920 defense against the French.
The palace played an important role during the Turkish War of Independence in the early 20th century.
Unique for its irregular shape and 12 towers (it was even surrounded by a moat at one point), the castle has withstood several invasions, renovations and regime changes.
After the castle was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1516, it lost its military importance, but held on to its status as an important historical site and tourist attraction for centuries.
Seismologists have said that the first earthquake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey.