[News Spot] The Millennium-old City of 'Marrakesh Medina' Collapsed in Gangjin

On the 8th (local time), a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco in North Africa, causing damage to the cultural heritage of Marrakesh, the city closest to the epicenter and a world-renowned tourist destination.

A village devastated by the Morocco earthquake.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Located in central Morocco, Marrakesh is a representative historic city preserving many medieval cultural heritages such as mosques and palaces. It is an ancient city built between 1070 and 1072 by the Almoravid dynasty, the first Islamic dynasty established by the Berbers. For a long time, it was a political, economic, and cultural center, exerting influence over the entire western Muslim region from North Africa to Andalusia. Marrakesh means "Land of God" in the Berber language, and the country's name, Morocco, is derived from the English pronunciation of Marrakesh.

Minaret of the World Heritage city mosque damaged by the Morocco earthquake.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The old city center of Marrakesh, called the Medina, which includes the Koutoubia Mosque, Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, and the Saadian Tombs, covers an area of 1,107 hectares?about 1.3 times the size of Yeouido?and was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1985. Medina refers to the old town area of North African cities. This area is also a popular Hollywood filming location, appearing as the chase scene setting for the protagonist Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible ? Rogue Nation" (2015). Films such as "The Mummy," "Sex and the City 2," and the TV series "Game of Thrones" were also filmed here.

Due to the recent earthquake, the 69-meter-high minaret of the Koutoubia Mosque, known as the "roof of Marrakesh," developed cracks in several places. This minaret, completed in 1158, is considered a major heritage representing Muslim architectural style.

Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, which recently became known in Korea through a variety show featuring Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, selling Korean food, also suffered damage. In particular, the minaret of the Kharbouk Mosque located in this square reportedly completely collapsed due to the earthquake. The UNESCO Maghreb Office, which inspected the site, stated, "It is necessary to begin cultural heritage preservation work simultaneously with rescue operations."

According to Morocco's state daily newspaper Le Matin, as of 7 p.m. on the 11th, the Moroccan government has tentatively reported 2,862 deaths and 2,562 injuries from the earthquake. The Al Haouz province, where the epicenter is located, suffered the most with 1,604 deaths, followed by Taroudant province with 976 deaths. Notably, 2,854 of the deceased are believed to have died from being buried under rubble. The number of casualties is expected to rise as there are many critically injured among the wounded and search and rescue operations for missing persons are ongoing.

Residents of a Village Near the Moroccan Epicenter Wearing Helmets Amid Aftershock Fear
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of this earthquake was located at 31.11 degrees north latitude and 8.44 degrees west longitude, near Ouka?meden in the Atlas Mountains region, with a relatively shallow focal depth of 18.5 km. It is the strongest earthquake since the 1960 quake near Agadir that claimed thousands of lives, and was felt as far as Algeria on the eastern border, as well as across the Mediterranean in Spain and Portugal.

AFP explained that Morocco is located between the African and Eurasian plates, and earthquakes frequently occur especially in the northern region. In 2004, at least 628 people died in an earthquake in Al Hoceima in northeastern Morocco. In 1980, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in neighboring Algeria caused about 2,500 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.