1. The Earthquake

Shortly before the noon of Saturday July 10, 1688 a devastating earthquake struck Smyrna. The epicentre was around Sancak Kalesi,¹at the mouth of the harbour,² and the earthquake lasted for 20-30 seconds. A tidal wave (tsunami) was created and cracks opened in several positions, while a part of the area between the coast and Mount Pagos (Kadifekale) collapsed. A great fire broke out immediately after the earthquake, spreading quickly over a large part of the city because of the wind.

The earthquake was felt to the north as far as Phokaia, to the east in Philadelpheia (Alaşehir), to the south in Kuşadası and to the west in Naxos Island. Aftershocks were felt daily until the late July.

2. Destructions

Due to the earthquake, 3/4 of the buildings along the coast of Smyrna collapsed. Among the buildings destroyed were the cathedral of St. Fotini, the church of St. George in the Orthodox cemetery, the Armenian church as well as the churches of the Capuchins, the Jesuits and the Presbyterians. Furthermore, 14 out of the 17 Muslim mosques of the city were demolished. Also collapsed two or three inns (han), the building of the old customs and the fortress of Sancak Kalesi at the end of a peninsula at the mouth of the Gulf of Smyrna, within about 3 km from the city.³

The land suffered extensive changes too. The area around the fortress was sunk and the last part of the peninsula was turned into an island. Cracks appeared on the coast. Some fountains ran dry while new ones were created.⁴ The fire that broke out immediately started from the European quarter near the shore. Because of the wind and the dense building the fire spread very quickly along Frank Street⁵ and the eastern part of the city, at Apano Machalas. The European quarter was burned down and the Armenian side suffered extensive damage. The buildings of the European consulates and the harbour depots were burned to ashes. The marketplace was almost completely damaged. Flames were still burning at the end of July.⁶

The material damage that inflicted the European merchants exceeded one million kuruş. The records of the consulates and the merchants were burnt, while all the bills of debt and preemption were destroyed.

3. Victims – Consequences

There were a large number of victims, mainly Ottoman subjects.⁷ Among the Europeans there were fewer victims because the earthquake occurred on Saturday, when most of them had a day off and were in the countryside. Among the victims were Parthenios I, Patriarch of Alexandria, who happened to be in the city, and the metropolitan of Smyrna Ignatios.⁸

Most of the survivors left the city and found temporarily shelter in ships and nearby villages, while several of them migrated to other areas. The disaster was followed by plundering that brought the city to a state of chaos along with the flight of the inhabitants and the constant aftershocks. The Porte sent the kapıcıbaşıAhmed to deal with the situation. By sultanic order the European merchants were partially reimbursed. Several foreign merchants transferred their business to other places. About 40 Frenchmen abandoned the city and moved to Chios, while some went to Aleppo and Sidon.

The city recovered very late from the consequences of the earthquake, as in September there were heavy rains and the next summer the city was struck by a plague epidemic because of the squalid conditions. In any case, in 1691 the city had to a large extent been reconstructed thanks to funds from European merchants, while commerce was also revived.