Moderate earthquake shakes Turkish capital; no reports of injuries

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 shook the Turkish capital early Thursday, waking residents from their sleep, authorities said. The quake caused no injuries, but some damage in the area. The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 1:47 a.m., was in the town of Bala, some 80 kilometers south of Ankara, said Dogan Kalafat, an official from the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory. The quake toppled the minaret of a mosque and damaged the roof of another building near Bala. Public Works Minister Nafiz Ozak said 343 houses were damaged and rendered uninhabitable. He said area schools were shut down until Monday.