Survivors Unite In Turkey's Gaziantep Earthquake- Pray For Turkey

More than a week has passed since earthquakes in Turkey, and Syria changed thousands of lives.

A devastating 7.8-magnitude quake struck northwestern Turkey, destroying thousands of buildings and catastrophic hundreds of villages across the border in northern Syria.

Both countries lost more than 33,000 lives in last week's quake, making it the deadliest disaster in decades in the region.

Because of the unexpected winter weather and extensive road damage, rescue teams took longer than usual to rescue stranded individuals.

Many volunteers assisted in personal communities, organizing a response area by region to help one another.

"Complete Terror"

Shortly after the tremor, restaurants, bars, and bakeries handed out hot tea, bread, and blankets for cold protection.

Owner Mehmet Taşdelen immediately opened his ground-floor restaurant as a shelter for those needing assistance in Kebabçi Yalçin, close to Gazimuhtar in Gaziantep.

There were only tall buildings on this street, and people ran in complete terror in every direction.

When I saw that, I ran to open my restaurant at around 6 am on the morning of the big quake. I started a couple of fires as we all stood together, waiting for the ground to stop shaking.

In the coming days, he opened his door to anyone needing a warm place and a meal.

"If the earthquake hadn't happened, we would have been dead by now from hunger or cold," said Ahmet, 64, who gave his last name but declined to share it. Ahmet picked up a hot noodle soup from the restaurant's kitchen.

He parked his car off Kebabçi Yalçin, where he had been sleeping for days with his wife, too afraid to go back to his home after the accident.

Although damage is not as significant in Gaziantep as in other areas of Turkey, humanity appears to have taken control.

At Cafe Sempre in Ordu Caddesi, the restaurant offers blankets and meals for free.

As soon as I saw all those people in the streets seeking a safe ground-floor location, I rushed to my bar and served them some hot tea.

Several hours ago, about 12 guests sheltered in Harry's bar, including a Turkish-Italian couple who had their first date before the earthquake.

The happy memories they made here are haunting them now. After sleeping in a car, they feared their house was unsafe, so they spent the night there. They saw this open place and decided to spend the night with others.

"We never imagined we would want this virus like we do now," says Ayhan Kahrıman, man, 29, as he holds his girlfriend's hand.

In This Together

The castle area has few areas for food preparation. Still, Huseyin Özyurtkan, 50, and Burcu, 42, have noticed that the abundant bread lines are insufficient for the number of troops they feed.

Despite the dangerous situation at home, they decided to go out into the world to help people in a similar situation.

"We're going through very hard times and we are all in this together to show our strength," Özyurtkan says.

His wife spent her birthday, which happened on Sunday, providing aid to those less fortunate. "It's more important to think about others than myself right now," she states as she ties on her hijab and returns to work at the clinic.