September 20, 1899 Earthquake: Sultanhisar,atca,nazilli,kuyucak,denizli, Turkey

On September 20, 1899 a destructive earthquake (magnitude 6.9, intensity IX) occurred in the Menderes valley,

Sultanhisar, Atca, Nazilli, Kuyucak, Saraykoy, Denizli and Karacasu appear to have suffered more than

other places. In Denizli, 55% of the houses were

completely destroyed. The havoc wrought at Nazilli

was as great: the old town was totally ruined,

together with Forbes' liquorice factory and all public

buildings; in the new part of the town, half the houses

were ruined by the shock and the ensuing fire. In

Saraykoy, the very few houses that survived the shock

were consumed by fire. Damage was less serious in

Aydin except in the Turkish quarter where a few

hundred houses collapsed, together with two minarets

of the Great Mosque, the chimney stack of Atkinson's

machine factory and a number of churches and

synagogues. The shock caused considerable damage

to the railway line east of Aydin, towards Cal and Denizli: embankments slumped, leaving rails suspended

2 metres in the air and bridges were damaged

at Balikdere, Gemelli and Karatas near Saraykoy.

Telegraph communications were also interrupted east

of Aydin, the poles supporting wires east of Kuyucak

and Gemelli having collapsed. The shock triggered

many landslides, one of which destroyed Ortakgi,

which was abandoned; Kemer and its nearby bridge,

and sites west of Cine were also damaged by slides.

Liquefaction-induced ground failures were reported

from throughout the Menderes valley, particularly

from near Kogarli, Sahinli and from as far as Cellat.

Long-period effects were experienced in Izmir, Mugla

and Isikli, where a minaret was damaged, and the

shock was felt as far away as Thrace, Marmara,

Eskisehir and Rhodes. Small aftershocks, mostly in

the western part of the epicentral region, and some

locally damaging, continued well into 1900. The

earthquake killed 1117 people and injured hundreds

more; it destroyed 7126 houses and damaged a

further 8756.

(above from reference #1215)