Disaster Relief for Karahüyük Community (Hatay)

As the enormous impact of the devastating earthquake on February 6 is becoming clearer every day, and as the rescue missions will gradually make way for disaster relief and eventually rebuilding, it is clear that the affected communities are in need of assistance to rebuild their lives for a long time to come.

As team members of the Tell Kurdu Excavations, we are deeply concerned about the people in the communities close to the archaeological site that we have been excavating in Hatay since 2022. The welcome and help that we have received from the locals have been of critical importance in the success of the project so far. The nearby village of Karahüyük is reported to have suffered great damage to its homes and farm buildings, in addition to loss of life.

This GoFundMe campaign hopes to raise funds to provide assistance to the people of Karahüyük to rebuild their houses and their lives. As the inhabitants of this region don’t reside in a country where GoFundMe operates, they are not eligible to act as direct beneficiaries. Therefore, Tell Kurdu co-director Fokke Gerritsen, will collect the funds. These will then be distributed and applied where they are most needed following the advice of trusted local partners.

The Tell Kurdu Excavations are an archaeological research project directed by Koç University, in close partnership with the Netherlands Institute in Turkey. Team members are archaeologists and students from universities in Turkey, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

The Netherlands Institute in Turkey has conducted archaeological research projects in different regions of Turkey for several decades and has relied heavily on partnerships with local universities, archaeologists and especially local communities.

Fokke Gerritsen (Netherlands Institute in Turkey, Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Rana Özbal (Koç University)